Anwar confusion exactly what Najib needs for full pardon appeal: With parole in 2026, who needs house arrest?

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia 

KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - The firestorm that has erupted over an additional royal decree to release jailed ex-premier Najib Razak into home detention has grown so intense it is exactly the fuel needed for his family and political party, Umno, to seek a fresh and full pardon for him.

"There is so much confusion, so many hidden hands,"  an insider in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

"To many, it looks like a deliberately botched attempt by the government to block Najib while conspiracy theories look even more credible it is all part of a master plan involving the topmost politicians to free Najib in a way that is so convoluted that everyone including the outside world will forget why Najib was jailed in the first place - grand corruption!" the insider added.

Indeed even Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the main figure behind the absurd circus surrounding Najib's controversial addendum (which is basically an add-on to an official document or letter), has been careful to make clear that Najib, who has already received a partial royal pardon in super-quick time a year ago, could now now apply again.

“Whether we agree or disagree (with the application), give the person a chance,” Anwar told reporters last week when he finally broke months of dramatic silence in a bid to calm the public outburst of anger over his government's alleged mishandling of the matter.

Anwar was reiterating Najib could still seek either a full pardon or house arrest from the King, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor who took over as Malaysia's constitutional monarch on January 31, 2024 - just two days after the previous king, Sultan Abdullah of Pahang, had chaired a Pardons Board meeting to reduce Najib's 12-year jail sentence by half as well as cut a RM210 million fine to just RM50 million.

FIRESTORM OF QUESTIONS TRIGGERED BUT ANWAR GOES OVERSEAS

But while Anwar finally admitted the addendum did exist after months of allegedly misleading and deceiving the public into doubting its authenticity, he also dropped other bombshells that straightaway ignited more questions than answers while omitting to share key details that would better explain the situation.

According Anwar, the addendum dated January 29 was sent to and received by his handpicked Attorney-General. However. not only did Anwar fail to share when exactly was the addendum received, he also rather glaringly omitted to tell why the AG did not alert or forward the addendum to the Pardons Board which was meeting on that very same day to finalize Najib's partial pardon.

Did the AG, Ahmad Terrirudin, receive the letter only after the meeting had ended? The meeting had been chaired by the then King and attended by Anwar's law minister Azalina Othman and federal territories minister Zaliha Mustafa. Also, did not Sultan Abdullah notice the addendum was missing and query the Pardons Board on it?  

Most shockingly, Anwar also revealed that the AG. Ahmad Terrirudin who has since been replaced, had instead waited for the new King to be installed before sending the addendum to the Palace for royal consideration. But why wait - did not the AG trust the outgoing King? Was the AG merely careless in his actions or was he trying to delay a decision on the addendum that would see Najib freed on home arrest? If so, was the AG acting on his own discretion and on what basis as the delay would prejudice Najib. Did the AG take a personal dislike to Najib or did he think he was looking out for Anwar or the government's interests? Which leads to the mother of all questions - was the AG actually acting on Anwar's instructions whether given directly or via one of his lieutenants? Or did some other powerful politician or figure intervene? 

Other key questions that remain a mystery include when exactly did Terrirudin inform Anwar and his law minister, Azalina? Was it before or after sending the addendum to the Palace for the new King's consideration? Also when exactly did Terrirudin send the addendum to the new King - on January 31 or after His Majesty's installation? If after, how much later and why?  

“The letter was sent to the AG, not to me, not to the Federal Territories Pardons Board members. After the new Agong ascended the throne, the AG then submitted it to Istana Negara,” Anwar had told reporters, without sharing further details.

Yet regardless of why the addendum was sent to the AG and not directly to Anwar or the Pardons Board, the moment Terrirudin sent it to the new King, it would be impossible for Anwar who meets the King weekly, not to know about it. It would also be rather impossible for Azalina to be in the dark about it as her law ministry's work and role is linked and networked to the AG's chambers. In fact, would it be appropriate if the entire Cabinet was not apprised of the situation? If they were not informed, then why not? Was Anwar trying to pull off some sort of political stunt that he did not want his Cabinet to know about?

Perhaps, only Anwar has the answers to the questions rebounding around the country. Unfortunately, he appears to have chosen to 'flee' from the wild fires raging over the Najib addendum fiasco. Now in Belgium for a two day official trip, Anwar had flown to Dubai and from there he had traveled to London for a five-day working visit.

"Typical. He rushes off and avoids doing anything. He's trying to let things cool down and when he's back, he'll try to pretend nothing happened," the insider told PoliticsNow Malaysia.

FROM HAM SANDWICH TO GAG ORDER, CONFUSION & RED HERRINGS GALORE

True or not, apart from baldly insisting his government did not hide the addendum, the reality is that Anwar has provided few details to convince the public his government had acted with transparency and was not in cahoots with the Najib camp to fan a new melodrama aimed to ultimately seal a secret deal allegedly struck in the aftermath of the 2022 general election.  

"Will Anwar get away with it? I think so because all the hallmarks of a major conspiracy are there. Umno's behavior especially all the party bigwigs aligned to Najib which includes Azalina is a giveaway. They have been hitting out at the injustice done to Najib but now even Akmal is focusing on ham sandwiches. So it looks like there's an agreement in place to let things cool off. Then Najib's family and Umno will make a bid for a fresh and full pardon for him on the grounds that Anwar's government treated him cruelly," the insider added.

The insider was referring to Umno youth chief Akmal Saleh, who like Azalina and many other senior leaders in their party, had positioned himself as a pro-Najib 'warrior'. Akmal, who was vociferous in his criticism over Najib's alleged mistreatment, has suddenly swiveled his focus to a racism-tinged attack against the Chinese-controlled KK Mart convenience store chain for selling ham sandwiches on the grounds that it went against Islam, which forbids the eating of pork meat. Yet Akmal who got his medical degree from a Russian university should surely be educated enough to know that 'ham' means cured meat and does not refer solely to pork but also turkey and chicken meat.

WITH PAROLE IN 2026, NAJIB DOES NOT NEED HOUSE ARREST BUT FULL PARDON 

Indeed the joke is not only on Anwar as Azalina, Umno and its president Zahid Hamidi are also part of his government - how could they not know? Or Anwar try to deceive them too? Whatever the truth, for now it's deflection, deflection and more deflection. From Akmal's ham sandwich to Anwar's never-ending overseas trip to his government's gag order, it looks like a coverup is on.

On Anwar's panicked side, the response is yet another gag order - ostensibly to calm public sentiment so as to ensure Najib gets justice. Unfortunately for the haphazard and fast-declining Anwar regime, the gag is seen more as a ham-fisted way to prevent public discourse, questioning and criticism of his handling of the Najib addendum and its logical next step - the second and full royal pardon that is expected to come soon.

The pro-Anwar propagandists too have been busy spinning excuses and alternative explanations to damage control for their weakened hero. The Pahang police as well as the Pahang palace have been dragged into the addendum scandal, accused of initiating and backdating the addendum. But Anwar's confirmation have since burned those theories initiated perhaps to add to the confusion. Another counter-productive repercussion of that spin for Anwar is that while Najib hails from the Pahang state - rehashing the link to the Pahang Palace also inadvertently revives questions about Anwar's ties with the ex-King.

After all, it was Sultan Abdullah, who against the odds in 2022, who brokered a peace deal between Anwar's Pakatan Harapan coalition and Umno that allowed Anwar to become PM and form his unity government. Speculation had then been rife that Anwar had struck a secret deal to free Najib and Zahid from their corruption trials in exchange for Umno agreeing to the royal peace plan. The three men have denied this but if true, then it could explain why Anwar's government made its shock move to drop all 47 corruption charges against Zahid, supported Najib's royal pardon that cut his original sentence from 12 years to six and a RM210 million fine to just RM50 million. Is a full royal pardon from the new King the next step planned by the still fabulously rich Najib?

"Put it this way. There's no reason for Najib to go for broke for home detention in the way that he is doing now. It's a full pardon that Najib wants and needs if he is to become PM again," said the insider.

The 71-year-old Najib will become eligible for parole after two-thirds of his reduced sentence has elapsed, which could mean that he walks free as early as August 2026, well in time for the country's next general election. But in order to stand for election and become a Member of Parliament, Najib would require a full royal pardon. Malaysia’s parliament is due to be dissolved by December 2027, with the next election to be held within 60 days of that. 

THE MAGIC OF JHO LOW'S 'AMERICAN PIES'

There's also been talk of Anwar teaming up with Zahid to block Najib from becoming PM. But on the balance, the consensus seems to be that both men as well the DAP party have given up - based on their responses and behavior so far.

The DAP is a cornerstone component in Anwar's Pakatan coalition - winning a record 40 seats in Malaysia's 222-seat Parliament mainly by campaigning against Najib's multi-billion dollar 1MDB corruption debacle that roiled markets and shut down a string of banks the world over. Yet since coming to power, DAP seems to have become 'de-fanged' - losing its previous outspokenness even on Zahid's acquittal and Najib's pardon.

"They have all become toothless. All of them may have been in talks with Najib's camp. For example, instead of standing up against freeing Najib, DAP might be negotiating behind the scenes with Umno on its own position in the next government if Umno wins the most seats and Najib becomes PM after the next election," said the insider.

"As for Anwar and Zahid, they must be blind if they can't see the writing on the wall. Anwar has had his chance to show off and strut around as PM but the job is too heavy for him. Everyone can see this especially voters. Zahid might wish to become PM, but it's obvious from the scale of the addendum outburst the majority in Umno still prefer Najib's leadership to his. 

"Whatever it is, Zahid is Anwar's friend and he is also Najib's friend. So I think Najib will get what he wants. He has enough resources stashed away to do that and perhaps that's what Malaysia may end up with - a stunning but totally unhealthy comeback by a jailed PM. This sort of scenario often happens when a populace is disunited in purpose and lacks strong or conscientious leaders willing to stand up and stand by it through thick and thin."

"Only greedy actors playacting as politicians will thrive, ready to betray anyone just for a quick bite at someone else's American pie," opined the insider, referring to a codename concocted by Najib's alleged 1MDB co-conspirator for the illicit money siphoned out and remitted back to Malaysia.

Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow Malaysia

https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/