Malaysia's Mahathir sees 50-50 chance of Najib Razak getting 1MDB pardon

Mahathir Mohamad, who was prime minister twice, said Malaysia's king could extend a pardon to Najib in the same way current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was given

Malaysia’s longest-serving leader Mahathir Mohamad saw a “50-50 chance” ex-premier Najib Razak will eventually receive a royal pardon in a case linked to 1MDB, the state fund that had billions of dollars siphoned and spread across the globe. 
 

Mahathir, who was prime minister twice, said Malaysia’s king could extend a pardon to Najib in the same way current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was given one back in 2018. Mahathir sought a full royal pardon for his former ally after they joined forces to win the elections that year on the back of public anger over Najib’s handling of 1MDB.

Their victory saw Najib’s United Malays National Organisation lose power for the first time in six decades. But Mahathir, 97, fell out with Anwar over an agreement to hand over power, leading to a collapse in government and the formation of a new administration with the support of UMNO lawmakers.

The party eventually came back to power after the Malaysian monarch determined that Ismail Sabri Yaakob had the backing of a majority of lawmakers to become prime minister. Najib has since rehabilitated his image by criticizing the economic policies of subsequent governments and publicly maintaining his innocence in the 1MDB scandal. That has helped him lead UMNO to a series of state election victories. 

“Suppose he is convicted and he’s jailed -- of course he’s going to ask for a pardon,” Mahathir told Bloomberg News on Monday in his office in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. 

“There is that 50-50 chance that he will succeed in getting a pardon and returning to politics,” Mahathir added. “He will come back and he wants to become the prime minister once again.”

Representatives for Najib declined to comment. Najib had pleaded not guilty for all the charges related to 1MDB.

In Mahathir’s second term as prime minister from 2018, dozens of criminal charges were filed against Najib for corruption, money laundering and criminal breach of trust. Najib is in court this week for a final appeal to overturn his 12-year prison sentence in the case involving 42 million ringgit ($10 million) of funds belonging to SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

His hearing will run until Aug. 26. If the court upholds Najib’s conviction, he will go to jail and won’t be able to contest in elections that must be held by Sept. 2023.

Factions within UMNO are already calling for early national elections after a strong showing in local polls, but Prime Minister Ismail said he would only hold one at the right time given other concerns, including inflation.  

Early Elections
 

Ismail said he was also focused on resolving a controversy over a contract worth billions of ringgit for littoral combat ships before deciding on when to hold the elections. A Public Accounts Committee this month published a report saying that none of six warships had been completed or delivered despite the government spending 6 billion ringgit ($1.3 billion) so far. 

Najib was in power when the procurement process was underway, with the first ship due for delivery in 2019 and five others in stages by this month. The scandal, Mahathir said, has already become an issue that could push elections to next year despite calls from UMNO factions to do so earlier. 

“Can you imagine, they allocated 6 billion ringgit for six ships and not one was built, not even one,” Mahathir said. “It’s mind blowing.”

A national election this time around would be much closer, Mahathir said, and no party is likely to win outright. His new party could form a minority government and Mahathir said he didn’t rule out a coalition with Anwar again despite earlier squabbles over succession plans. 

Still, Mahathir said he isn’t interested in becoming prime minister for a third time. He’s had several coronary bypass operations and suffered three heart attacks. Mahathir recently had a pacemaker installed and earlier this year told reporters he wouldn’t contest again due to poor health and age. 

“These people get very upset if I say I’m not contesting,” he said of his party. “So if I’m healthy enough -- if they still want me -- I cannot deny them, even if it kills me.”