In a stunning turn of events, Malaysia has decided to cut the prison sentence of former Prime Minister Najib Razak by half, reducing it to six years, according to an announcement by the country’s pardons board on Friday.
Najib, previously sentenced in 2022 to 12 years behind bars for offenses related to the misappropriation of public funds in the scandalous 1MDB financial controversy, has been granted a 50 percent reduction in both sentence and fine, as disclosed in an official statement.
The board, presided over by the former King Sultan Abdullah and comprised of officials, including the attorney general, convened on Monday, just two days before the king passed the throne to his successor in a rotational transition.
After a protracted legal battle, Najib was convicted in 2020 on charges of abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust concerning the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($8.9 million) from the 1MDB unit SRC International to his personal bank account. Despite his attempt to overturn the verdict, the country’s highest court rejected his appeal.
The 70-year-old, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, argued that he did not receive a fair trial, alleging a conflict of interest involving a judge and insufficient time for his new legal team to examine case documents. His political downfall occurred in 2018 when an opposition alliance led by Malaysia’s political patriarch Mahathir Mohamad secured victory at the polls amid public outrage over the scandal.
