YOURSAY | ‘The political class is whipping up public sentiment for votes.’

Umno sec-gen rejects BN-Najib pardon link, accuses Harapan of pushing false narrative

World Citizen: Umno has campaigned aggressively for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s pardon and release from prison.

This has always been one of the party’s main agendas, and Langkawi Umno chief Nazifuddin Najib just reiterated it.

So what is this Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki crowing about?

Please don’t think people are stupid, Asyraf. Whatever and however you lie, the moment Umno gets into power, whether in Johor or at the federal level, the first thing Umno will do is to get the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to grant him a pardon.

This is regardless of his long prison sentence and high fine imposed by the court for his 1MDB crimes.

Voters must be aware of this and not get conned by Umno’s lies. Don’t vote for Umno/BN. Please let this country gain some credibility back from the international community.

Coward: The Agong acts on the advice of the Pardons Board. While the King has a role, everyone knows the federal government has significant influence over the board’s recommendations. That is why who forms the government matters.

One of Umno’s aims is to free Najib. If they win this state election, the chances of Najib being freed will increase. As such, it is a valid election question.

I am not surprised that despite publicly campaigning for this pardon, Umno dare not own it now. Trying to pass the buck to the Agong is disingenuous.

One thing this revealed is that not all their targeted electorate support Najib’s pardon.

Otherwise, knowing Umno, and as demonstrated right now with how they behave when they know they have PAS’ support in this state election, they would be loudly championing Najib’s pardon themselves.

However, if they think they can fool anyone with this, they are only fooling themselves.

PinkJaguar7289: When Pakatan Harapan and PKR were campaigning while its leader Anwar Ibrahim was imprisoned, his freedom and royal pardon were openly part of their political narrative.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad even said that an incoming government could make the case for the Agong to grant Anwar a full pardon, and Anwar was released shortly after Harapan’s victory at the 14th general election.

Therefore, DAP leaders should look in the mirror before condemning BN leaders for mentioning Najib’s pardon during an election campaign.

Are they suggesting that campaigning for Anwar’s pardon was noble and democratic, but campaigning for Najib’s pardon is suddenly improper?

Anwar’s and Najib’s convictions involved different facts, and voters are entitled to judge their seriousness differently, but the democratic principle cannot change according to whose political leader is behind bars.

Raising the pardon issue during an election is not inherently illegal. It is political advocacy, provided campaigners do not commit separate offences such as bribery, defamation, incitement, or deliberate falsehoods.

A victory may demonstrate public sentiment, but it cannot itself release a prisoner.

The final constitutional decision belongs to the Agong through the pardon process - not to DAP, BN, or any election result.

DAP cannot demand one standard for Anwar and another for Najib.

Milshah: I see this as a non-issue. This is a state election, not a federal election.

Johor voters would be more interested in what caretaker Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi and his team do for Johor.

So far, Onn Hafiz and Umno have delivered, and I think that’s why Johor voters will still vote for them.

The federal leaders should not be too jumpy; voters are all aware of the Najib issue.

For now, they want to see Umno in Johor. So Johor Umno should focus on its performance and what it can deliver rather than talk about Najib.

PinkJaguar7289: Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s latest warning looks less like responsible leadership and more like political desperation.

By linking a Johor election result to Najib’s possible release, he risks inflaming suspicion between Malay and Chinese voters simply to present himself as DAP’s heroic defender.

Johor does not need racial theatre, exaggerated threats, or cabinet resignation stunts.

It needs leaders who can campaign on policies, competence, and facts - not manufacture ethnic anxiety when electoral support is slipping.

Sherlock: Look here, Najib and businessperson Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, are responsible for 1MDB’s loss of billions of ringgit; the Malaysian taxpayers and generations later have to bear the burden.

Low seeks forgiveness and a pardon from United States President Donald Trump, not Malaysian taxpayers.

Najib seeks forgiveness and pardon from the Agong, not Malaysian taxpayers.

Neither Trump nor Agong bears the 1MDB loss.

Dear Malaysian taxpayers, what is your value?

Wah Gor Your CCB PM: The political class is whipping up public sentiment for votes.

When even former minister Khairy Jamaluddin had to use the race card against the weakening DAP (whose many supporters in the last general election will abandon them), you know we are seeing a mud fight between desperadoes.

Pavle Kawan: Asyraf is “genuinely puzzled” but the rest of us stand clear-minded.

Najib and Umno are not yet ancient history - the danger persists, and the rakyat are still paying and will continue to pay long into the future for all the unrepentant scheming and misappropriation.

Despite all the judgments of numerous courts and the judges’ plain and evocative language, we still need to pussyfoot around sometimes in describing all the shocking behaviour.

GrayParrot9290: Did everyone forget Najib is a convicted felon and one of the biggest kleptocrats in history and worse than Attila the Hun?

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