Najib Is Still Pekan MP From Jail As He Has Filed Petition For Royal Pardon
Today marks the 14th day of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak being in jail.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 05 Sep 2022, 02:13 PM
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will remain as the Pekan member of parliament (MP) as he has filed a petition seeking a royal pardon for his conviction in the SRC International case
The announcement was made by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun today, 5 September, reported Free Malaysia Today.
Azhar said Najib filed the petition on 2 September, which is well within 14 days of the Federal Court's reaffirming of his conviction in the case.
"The enforcement of his disqualification as an MP will only begin if his petition is denied," said the Speaker
"As such, Datuk Seri Najib Razak's status as the Pekan MP remains unchanged at this time."
Today marks the 14th day of Najib being in jail. On 23 August, the Federal Court upheld his sentence to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering in the SRC International case.
According to Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, an MP will lose their seat if they are convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than one year in jail and fined more than RM2,000.
However, under Article 48(4)(c), they can keep their seat if they file an appeal at the court or a royal pardon within 14 days. Should their appeal or royal pardon be rejected, they will lose their MP status.
Meanwhile, Pekan UMNO deputy division chief Zamri Ramly said that he has distributed petitions to residents of the constituency to request the Agong to grant Najib a royal pardon
He said that he hoped that at least 100,000 people in the constituency would sign the petition, reported The Star.
"I hope that all leaders in the constituency will give their best commitment to sign the petition that will be presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," the deputy division chief said on Sunday, 4 September.
"All Pekan residents should also sign the petition distributed through applications such as WhatsApp to show their support for Najib."
