Jailed Malaysian ex-PM Najib loses final bid to review graft conviction
KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Reuters) - Malaysia's top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, ending Najib's judicial efforts to challenge the guilty verdict.
Najib became the first Malaysian premier to be imprisoned after Malaysia's Federal Court upheld a guilty verdict and 12-year prison sentence handed down to him by a lower court.
Najib, 69, can no longer challenge the conviction in court, but he has applied for a royal pardon which if successful could see him released without serving the full 12-year term.
Federal Court Judge Vernon Ong said a five-member panel voted 4-1 to dismiss Najib's application to review the conviction.
There was no miscarriage of justice in the top court's decision last year, he said, adding that a review was granted only in "very limited and exceptional…
Stability of Malaysian PM Anwar’s unity government at stake amid spat over Najib Razak release
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s commitment to fighting corruption in the country has come under the spotlight, risking instability in the government.
Mr Anwar has long talked about tackling the scourge of corruption in Malaysia, but the ongoing debate over whether former prime minister Najib Razak should be released from jail before Eid celebrations has created a dilemma for him.
The 69-year-old Najib was imprisoned for 12 years last year over corruption charges in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) debacle.
Now in a bid to free its former party president, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Mr Anwar’s biggest partner in the unity government, has stepped up pressure on the Pardons Board in which Mr Anwar is a member.
Meanwhile, the country’s anti-corruption commission has launched a probe into alleged wrongdoing by lawmakers that are part of the government bloc itself, the latest involving Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar.
PRESSURE FROM THE BIGGEST PARTNER
The 19-party coalition government is the biggest ever in the country’s history.
Managing the diverse parties’ interests is no mean feat for Mr Anwar, who took over as the 10th prime minister last November.
Five months on, UMNO is ramping up efforts to free Najib, after its former party president had exhausted all avenues of appeal in court and failed in a recent review to overturn his conviction and sentence.
Early this month, Law Minister Azalina Othman Said, who is from UMNO, revealed that the anti-corruption agency in its probe last year found the high court judge who convicted Najib had breached the Judges’ Code of Ethics and had a conflict of interest.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki has since denied leaking the report.
“It is no more legal. All legal procedures have been exhausted, so now it’s up to the king to exercise his discretion in the so-called court of compassion,” said Ms Azalina.
UMNO’s actions are said to have put the country’s institutions at stake.
“This is a serious issue (and) it's an effort that undermines various government institutions,“ said former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who was expelled from the party in January this year.
UMNO’s former information chief Shahril Hamdan, who was in January this year suspended from the party for six years, said: “It is a slippery slope. The end justifies the means without taking into account the long-term impact. This has set a dangerous precedent, a lot of things can go wrong.”
Many, including non-government organisations, have raised concerns about PM Anwar’s reform pledges and the long-term stability of his unity government stemming from the ongoing episode.
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-prime-minister-anwar-ibrahim-faces-dilemma-between-anti-corruption-fight-najib-razak-release-unity-government-instability-3425261