Zaid urges PM to free Najib because RM42m is 'small change'

Zaid Ibrahim has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to free former premier Najib Abdul Razak "for the sake of the people”.

According to the former minister, this was because, in the scheme of things, RM42 million (the value of corruption Najib is imprisoned for) is a "small change”.

"Dear PM, you have to change your mind about Najib - for the sake of the people. Let him free.

"This coming (state) election(s), (the Malaysia) Madani (government) needs to win; you need to be prime minister for a few more years," Zaid (above, left) tweeted this morning.

He said Umno is weak (to face the polls), and only Najib can help the party win.

"Sure, he was found guilty, but in the scheme of things RM42 million is a small change.

"After all, from now on, corruption is a thing of the past under your strict and clean leadership. No one can say you are soft on corruption by pardoning him (Najib)," he added.

Zaid later clarified to Malaysiakini he was merely stating that the RM42 million involved in the latter’s case was “smaller” compared to other corruption cases which run into hundreds of millions or even billions of ringgit.

Najib is serving a 12-year jail sentence following a corruption conviction in relation to RM42 million of funds from SRC International. He was also slapped with an RM210 million fine.

SRC International was a former subsidiary of 1MDB that later became fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc). MOF Inc also fully owned 1MDB.

Umno has made concerted efforts to free Najib, including applying for a royal pardon for the former prime minister.

Anwar, who sits on the Pardons Board, has reiterated that every convicted person has a right to seek release from prison by filing an application with the board.

While Anwar sits on the board, it is the sole prerogative of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to grant pardons.

Last month, Prime Minister's Department Legal Affairs Division director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said that the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will be considering Najib’s application for his release from prison at another time.

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