Malaysia pauses Najib’s pardon decision amid public backlash
The king pardoned 65 other convicts but decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting
However, Putrajaya said on Friday the king, constitutionally empowered to grant pardons to convicted felons serving their sentences, had decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be “postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting that will be held in future”.
The king, meanwhile, granted pardons to 65 convicts effective from Friday, the government said in a statement.
The statement came just moments after Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, president of Najib’s Umno party, expressed optimism of a positive outcome. “Hopefully there will be great news today,” Zahid, who is also Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, said in his opening speech at the party’s general assembly on Friday, after rolling out a red-carpet welcome for Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.
