KUALA LUMPUR: The G25 group of prominent retired civil servants is calling for the Pardons Board to rescind their decision to grant jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak a partial pardon.
G25 said the group felt that it had unfortunately resulted in a travesty of the justice system, given the circumstances of the case.
"Given the seriousness of the matter that will certainly affect the image and credibility of our nation, both domestically and internationally, we express our profound hope and expectation that the matter could be revisited at an early meeting of the Pardons Board to rescind the decision to grant Najib a partial pardon.
"We also respectfully request that the Pardons Board provides the public with a written reason for such a decision or, at the very least, furnish the public with the written opinion of the Attorney-General to the Pardons Board pursuant to Article 42(9) of the Federal Constitution," it said in a statement.
It said it was dubious that the Pardons Board would significantly reduce Najib's sentence, especially considering his lack of admission of guilt, remorse, or restitution for embezzled funds.
As such, the G25 fears that the decision of the Pardons Board would create a bad precedent and it would result in the justice system in Malaysia being the subject of ridicule internationally.
"According to former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, among the criteria for a pardon is that the prisoner, firstly, must have served one-third of his jail sentence before applying for pardon.
"Secondly, he must not have any other criminal cases pending."
In the case of Najib, he has yet to serve one-third of his jail sentence of 12 years and has other criminal cases pending, it said.
The G25 also questioned the involvement of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in expediting Najib's application.
"By fast-tracking Najib's application for pardon before the Pardons Board - whilst there are many other prisoners in the queue waiting for their pardon applications to be heard, isn't this being inconsistent with Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which provides for equality before the law?
"Shouldn't Najib wait for his turn to have his application heard before the Pardons Board, like everyone else?
"By virtue of Article 42 of the Federal Constitution, the power of pardon resides with His Majesty the King, as such, it is imperative that the power be exercised with dignity and wisdom.
"We, in G25, earnestly hope that what has happened will never recur in the future."
The Pardons Board on Friday halved Najib's 12-year jail term to six years.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years' jail and fined RM210 million after being found guilty of abuse of power, breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
