
How ridiculous and shameful! Malaysia has caught the attention of the global media, and for the wrong reason, again.
The fuss was over ‘justice’ and pardon for a former prime minister who hit the headlines in the past for being Malaysia’s biggest all-time kleptocrat.
We are talking about Najib Razak, a felon who was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from a 1MDB unit.
Najib was convicted by eight of nine judges, at three different levels of the judiciary – up to the Federal Court, and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
He also has several other cases pending, one of which is answering a charge of 25 counts of using his position to obtain RM2.3bn in gratification from 1MDB funds.
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For Aliran’s UK Menon, the former PM’s “conviction and sentence underwent exhaustive legal scrutiny, receiving the fullest review possible under the Malaysian legal system with appeals up to the Federal Court. This should have been the final chapter in a saga that saw the triumph of accountability over power”.
Royal pardon and all that
And yet, here they were – Umno (which Najib once headed though it is now a part of the “Madani unity government”) and Pas (previously highly critical of Umno and Najib) organising a rally in Putrajaya, in front of the Palace of Justice on 6 January. They demanded that this felon of a PM who had “done so much for Malaysia” and who “had been misled” by others be pardoned!
How can one talk about a pardon when so much review of the case had taken place and when so many other cases are pending?
These Umno and Pas leaders reportedly alleged “a conspiracy” in the making, one that “disregarded” the royalty and “betrayed” and “victimised” the former PM instead.
Purportedly, an “addendum” from the former king, before he stepped down, had gone missing. Najib’s lawyers and his diehard supporters claimed that the addendum would allow their “boss” to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. This was ‘justice’ for a leader who had served the country honourably, they claimed. Besides, he is also the son of a former PM!
So, they accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and alleged that the home affairs minister, the attorney general or some other minister had been hiding the royal document. They implied that the PM and the ministers were challenging the former king, since the king, under Article 42 of the Constitution had the “power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites in respect of all offences committed in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya”.
Before he stepped down last year, the previous king had reportedly reduced Najib’s 12-year sentence by half and slashed his fine from RM210m to RM50m. And now, the missing addendum would allow Najib to have his royal pardon further enhanced – for the document reportedly proposed that he serve the rest of his sentence under ‘house arrest’, ie at home.
Anwar has clarified that there was no intention to withhold or hide any addendum. It was simply not made available to the Pardons Board when it met last year.
At the meeting the reduction in the fine and the halving of the years of sentence were, apparently, decided upon. But nothing about a house detention was discussed. In all probability, the addendum was sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers subsequent to the Pardons Board hearing, when the king, the attorney general and Prime Minister Anwar himself were present.
Compounding the problem is that we have since had a change of king and a new attorney general. So, the new king is not involved in the conundrum.
Unfortunately, some pro-Reformasi commentators, who ought to know better, have bought into this argument of a conspiracy. For one of them, this pardons issue is “the final act of betrayal of the reform agenda that had brought PMX to power”. For him, this is “the latest in a string of broken promises, far too many to gloss over”. These political leaders including the PM, were accused of being unprincipled and conniving, even hiding the truth: “the worst bunch of dishonourable hypocrites the nation has ever seen in the corridors of power”. Harsh words!
Stalemate and lack of reforms
The frustration of these pro-Reformasi commentators stems from the lack of reforms under Anwar and his Madani unity government.
We can agree with that. Many 2018 Reformasi promises have not been met. Worse, some of the gains have been rolled back. The most significant disappointment concerns Najib’s pardons and reprieves, after he had been found guilty as mentioned above.
Let me mention others. There are the two cases of discharge not amounting to acquittal.
The Attorney General’s Chambers controversially withdrew 47 charges of corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering faced by deputy PM Zahid Hamidi, and granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal. Not only that, prosecutors withdrew their appeal against his acquittal by the High Court on 40 charges in a foreign visa corruption case.
A related case involves Musa Aman. who was charged with 46 counts of corruption and money laundering involving RM90m. But in 2020, the prosecution withdrew all charges. Now he is the new governor of Sabah!
On 27 November 2024, Najib and former treasury secretary general Irwan Serigar Abdullah were also given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the court in a case involving International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC). The pair had faced six charges of criminal charges of trust involving RM6.6bn in government funds.
Apparently, key documents had not been granted to the defendants by the prosecution as required under the Criminal Procedure Code.
Former deputy law minister Hanipa Maidin said the government should have declassified the documents, which are classified as ‘official secret’, so that they could be given to the defendants.
And less than a month ago, Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor was freed of 12 charges of money laundering and five of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board. Apparently, the charges were defective and failed to disclose the essential elements of the alleged offences.
No doubt, there exists much inefficiency in the Attorney General’s Chambers due to six decades of Umno-Barisan Nasional rule.
As mentioned in one of the cases above, documents had not been declassified as required so that they could be handed over to the defendants.
Others observed that the lawyers in the Attorney General’s Chambers may not have been adequate to their task. Tommy Thomas’s account of his time as attorney general in 2018-19 recounted the difficulties he faced when he held the post because the rot of inefficiency had set in.
Given the circumstances, it is urgent to implement the long-recommended reform to separate the attorney general and public prosecutor roles. It might help to restore confidence in the justice system.
The good news is that the cabinet has reportedly given the nod to this critical reform. Outgoing Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in her Opening of the Legal Year 2025 address last week expressed confidence that the PM is committed to uphold judicial independence in the country.
The chief justice, who has imbibed the Reformasi spirit herself and won the admiration of the people in the short time she has served in the post, is in a better position to judge the PM’s intentions on this matter – much better than an outsider like me.
So, I wait with bated breath for the separation of the attorney general and public prosecutor roles, for the appointment of capable new judges, and for an improvement in the administration of justice generally.
I could go on about the struggle for greater economy and more fiscal independence for Sabah and Sarawak, the latter’s demand for a large percentage of the petroleum royalties, and other challenges of development in the two Borneo states.
Or I could discuss how, under Anwar, the economic situation in Malaysia has improved considerably. No doubt, this improvement is related to the entire world re-emerging better off after Covid. It is also due to the US-China trade crisis, which has resulted in American electronics factories relocating to Malaysia to back up their supply chains. Anwar’s concerted effort to draw Chinese investments to Malaysia has helped as well. So too Malaysia’s participation in Brics, as a partner country.
For now, let’s look at the dynamics of the Madani unity government instead. We must locate the present lack of reforms to our current political context.
Hung parliament… Reformasi in abeyance?
For me, this stalemate and the lack of reforms have come about because Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan was unable to win a simple majority in the 2022 general election. Instead, Malaysia ended up with a hung parliament.
So, PH (comprising PKR, DAP, Amanah and Pasok-Momogun) was forced to form a broad coalition with Umno, as well as other coalition-parties in Sabah and Sarawak. Invariably, PH had to accommodate the demands of these partner-coalitions.
Why, Umno’s current president, Zahid Hamidi was appointed as the Deputy PM.
Many cabinet ministers and deputies are not well-known personalities. Nor are they known for their competence, transparency and accountability in governance. Most needed schooling in Reformasi.
Although I am frustrated with the stalemate, I believe the current Madani government under Anwar is preferable to the four other governments preceding it:
- First, there was the Umno-BN party led by the kleptocrat Najib until 2018
- This was followed by the PH-Bersatu government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who refused to step down after two years, despite public knowledge that there was a gentlemen’s agreement he would do so, and allow Anwar to take over
- Then came the Mahiaddin Yasin government in early 2020, which courted Pas to assure itself of the required numbers to pass laws. It also started rolling back the little reforms achieved up to that point
- The fourth was the Ismail Sabri Yaakob government the following year. This government never had the required number of MPs to govern by itself. So, we were introduced to and practiced governing with a hung parliament, except that Parliament hardly sat – ostensibly because of Covid safety requirements. In fact, this government was afraid a vote of confidence would be introduced and it might be for not having the required numbers. So it could not put together a majority to guarantee the passing of laws and bills either. This resulted in a compromise of sorts agreed among the various parties until the general election in late 2022
There is a difference between these four governments and the current Madani unity one. That said, much of the stalemate was already in the offing during those years of Covid restrictions.
Importantly, Umno-BN’s electoral domination had an impact on all other aspects of the Malaysian political system and left its mark, often negatively. Its two-thirds majority in the federal Parliament, allowing it to amend the 1957 Constitution at will.
Umno-BN also influenced the workings of the entire bureaucracy – the civil servants, the army and the police, as well as the system of administration of justice, which collapsed the attorney general and public prosecutor roles.
It also influenced the making of public policy, the allocation of public funds, and the awarding of the tenders for this or that policy, which invariably went to one or more of their cronies.
The common understanding is that efficiency and professionalism were compromised. Favouritism and racial discrimination set in.
Why, those in power determined not just who would head the educational system and how it would function. They also influenced who would head sports associations and how they would function.
Often, excellence was compromised, and Malaysia’s overall competitiveness faltered when measured against its counterparts in Southeast Asia and especially East Asia.
Soon after the 2018 general election, Aliran published a book Regime Change in Malaysia: GE14 and the End of Umno-BN’s 60-year Rule (edited by Francis Loh and Anil Netto).
But the unfolding political drama after that election suggests we might have overestimated that reforms would naturally follow. The narrative in the book might have been too optimistic.
With five different PMs in seven years, new parties and new coalitions notwithstanding, the discourse and practice of politics in 2025 is not one of reform and dramatic change. Instead, it is one of stalemate and lack of reforms – for the tiger does not lose its stripes easily.
Pas and the consolidation of Islamic conservatism
That said, some are still rallying behind their ‘boss’ or “Bossku”.
So, the most significant change that happened in 2018 was the ousting of Umno-BN. Massive abuse of power and corruption had taken place, especially at the prime minister’s office.
But the challenge to Malaysia in the following decades will not come from Umno-BN 2.0. The BN parties have all but disappeared – and we will not see a ‘second coming’ of BN.
The challenge instead is the consolidation of Pas and its version of Islamic conservatism. This is also the challenge to us who advocate for a stronger PH and for reforms in the medium term.
In the short term, this lack of reforms will continue, I fear. And our politics will continue to be fragmented resulting in a hung parliament. The centre does not hold!
So, we are required to cobble together a governing coalition, not necessarily of the best of friends, but of people who are tolerant towards one another. We must bring people together across races, religions, regions, gender and the class divide. Our reformist-oriented coalition, by definition, must be a multi-ethnic coalition as well.
But there is a problem which compromises the growth and consolidation of PH and the Madani unity government. The statistics available show that PH is strong in the urban areas, especially among the ethnic minorities. PH – PKR especially – needs to improve its support among the ethnic Malays, especially in the Malay heartland states in the northern and eastern parts of the peninsula.
PH and PKR must bring Reformasi into the major institutions – the civil service, the army, police, the judiciary, the university and schools. This should not just be at the federal level but also at the state and local government levels.
One of the lessons I learnt when I was appointed to the Penang Island City Council in 2008 by the Penang PH government was that you must win over the civil servants too.
Similarly, if I was appointed to be vice-chancellor of, say, Universiti Sains Malaysia, where I served for over 30 years, I wouldn’t know where to start really – from the top, or from the bottom, or piecemeal? For every level and most personnel need fixing. Maybe, seek out reform-minded people first.
So, PKR’s Malay leaders are faced with this difficult tug-of-war. For many among the minorities, the party stands for Reformasi. It promised reforms in the 2018 and 2023 elections.
But party leaders are unable to move in that direction if the Malay voters who they should be mobilising towards reforms are now being recruited into Pas and to the other new Malay parties instead.
No doubt, the splits within Umno have weakened the once-dominant party. The 1MDB scandal had earlier encouraged major leaders like Mahiaddin, Hamzah Zainudin and Shafie Apdal to break away from Umno.
This is a breakthrough. For six decades, the vast majority of Malays had turned to Umno. The basis of Umno’s support was Malay nationalism and the New Economic Policy.
So what can PH offer voters – the Malay and the minorities? Jobs and higher wages, affordable housing and an efficient public transport system? Top-rate education to tertiary level?
For the time being, the PH and PKR can ride on the back of the 1MDB financial scandals that have caused Umno to lose its legitimacy.
Bersatu, with Mahathir at its helm, once attracted many of these people who broke away from Najib.
But in the aftermath of the Sheraton coup followed by the lacklustre Mahiaddin and Ismail Sabri governments, neither Mahathir nor Bersatu commands much support anymore.
It was a bit of a surprise that Pas performed so well in the 2018 general election, emerging victorious in Perlis and Kedah, on top of Terengganu and Kelantan, its traditional strongholds.
In the 2022 general election, Pas surpassed expectations. It emerged as the single strongest party in Malaysia, winning 43 out of 222 parliamentary seats.
In state elections held in 2023, which it contested in partnership with Bersatu under the Perikatan Nasional banner, the coalition won 105 out of 123 seats it contested. PN won 43 out of 45 seats in Kelantan, 33 out of 36 seats in Kedah and all 32 seats in Terengganu. (No state elections were held in Perlis). In Penang, PN won an unprecedented 11 0f 40 seats.
Umno was recruited into the Madani unity coalition to buttress the appeal of PH in rural Malay areas. In fact, it has become clear from by-elections and state elections held post-2023 that Umno’s pull among Malays has weakened.
The trend among Malay Muslims is to turn to Pas. Cleverly, Pas projects itself as the party of the Muslims and attacks PKR for working with the DAP, a ‘kafir’ party.
Indeed, Pas is very different from what it was previously, especially after the passing of its spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat in 2015. Moderate leaders like Mohamad Sabu, Dzulkefly Ahmad and Hanipa Maidin then withdrew to form Amanah, which joined PH.
In the absence of ‘Tok Guru’ and its moderate wing, Pas has become more “extremist-conservative”. Nik Aziz did not oppose the appointment of non-Muslims to key government positions. He even promoted the building of non-Muslim places of worship in Kelantan.
But the reverse is now the case. Non-Muslims are seen as threats to the party and to Islam nowadays.
Pas president Hadi Awang has controversially claimed, publicly, that corruption is mainly caused by the non-Muslims. Like Hadi, his son Muhammad Khalil believes Malaysia must move towards the creation of an Islamic state.
Their argument is simple, even simplistic: Malay Muslims are the majority in the country. So they are vehemently opposed to the DAP (and other smaller parties in Sabah and Sarawak) led by non-Muslims, which Pas associates with liberalism and sometimes Christianity.
In recent years, many mundane taken-for-granted matters have been turned controversial due to positions assumed by Pas leaders and supporters. For instance:
- the school canteen should not be kept open during Ramadan out of respect for Muslims who are fasting
- to eradicate gambling, lottery outlets have been closed in the four Pas-governed states
- Pas has also organised campaigns to oppose the hosting of concerts by foreign artists such as the British band Coldplay and the Korean girl group Blackpink
- Over 180 police reports have been lodged against Hannah Yeoh, the DAP Youth and Sports Minister, who is a Christian, for allegedly trying to convert Malays to Christianity in Malaysia. The only evidence that has been cited in these reports is that she authored her memoir Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey. Azis Jamman, a Muslim friend of Yeoh’s and former deputy home minister, has found the filing of these reports ”puzzling”. In defence of Yeoh, Azis posted on Facebook that there is nothing in the book that tries to convert anybody
- Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil from PKR was criticised on social media for sending RIP condolences to the family of a well-known non-Muslim journalist who had died. Apparently, Muslims are not supposed to send RIP condolences when non-Muslims die
- then, there was the case of Siti Mastura Mohamad, an elected MP with a PhD from the School of Social Sciences in USM. She was found guilty of defamation and causing public hate against three DAP leaders by alleging they were cousins of the Chin Peng (the late Communist Party of Malaya leader) and Lee Kuan Yew (the first PM of Singapore). With a PhD, the MP should have known that her claim was ludicrous. Instead of advising the Pas MP to stop defaming the plaintiffs for which she was found guilty, she has been turned into a heroine. Pas leaders have ordered every branch of the party to raise funds to help Siti Mazura pay the RM825,000 compensation that was awarded to the three DAP leaders
I am concerned that Pas leaders do not appear to uphold the concept of minority rights. Rather, there is a notion of the dictatorship of the majority.
Pas’ control over hundreds of Islamic schools and the tahfiz (Quran learning centres), and its influence over funeral and wedding matters allow the party to penetrate the Malay-Muslim grassroots. This then allows the party to disseminate religious information and political propaganda (like the opinions expressed against Hannah Yeoh, and against the DAP leaders in Siti Mastura’s case) effectively.
What does all this mean?
Change will be slow, very slow. When asked why the reforms were so few and far between, the PKR leaders I spoke to reminded me they are in a coalition government with Umno and the Sabah and Sarawak parties. They cannot yet deliver the reforms they promised because they did not win the necessary electoral mandate.
This doesn’t mean there will be no reforms. There will be. These PKR leaders do think that a freedom of information act and the separation of the public prosecutor and attorney general AG roles have been approved by the cabinet, including by non-PH parties.
The discussion of the expansion of Pas and the rise of Islamic conservatism reminds us that PKR and PH face a tough challenge. They cannot deliver Malay nationalism or New Economic Policy promises like Umno-BN did either.
The option is clear. People who are critical of the lack of reforms must double down to help PH and PKR win the support of the Malay people – not only in the urban areas but in the rural Malay heartland, the government institutions (the civil servants, police, army, health workers, teachers etc) and ordinary people of different religions, races and regions.
Not only that, we must design and deliver jobs, better salaries, affordable housing, better health and educational opportunities, and efficient public transport.
Overall, Reformasi means standing up on the side of Justice and Human Dignity, Compassion and Concern for others, inter-ethnic and interfaith dialogue and gender equality. It means rejecting corruption and upholding righteousness, freedom and political participation.
It is time for us to shift our focus from ‘Big P’ Power Politics (the realm of PH and PKR, elections, DNAA and royal pardons). Let’s embrace the ‘small p’ people-oriented politics that we have advocated (NGO activism, human rights and environmental protection, and the rights of foreign workers and the marginalised) once again.
Francis Loh
Co-editor, Aliran newsletter
14 January 2025
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
At last, a rational review of the situation which examines all aspects unemotionally. Most of the commentaries thus far simply refuse to examine the circumstances. They tend to hold to idealistic positions and demand compliance.
It is important that we take the time to understand the constraints the current government has to navigate through. In our eagerness to see reforms take place, let us not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Anwar is grappling with 3 major challenges.
1. Loss of capital
2. Leakages in the spending
3. Runaway Islamization
He has been making progress with the first two. The third one, nobody else had either a clue or the gumption to take on.
Anwar seems to have a plan. Let’s give him a chance.
If you really want to change things start weeding out the money addicts in the parties. Money addiction is a mental illness that Najib appears to suffer from. It destroys families and individual lives, Najib’s for example. Unlike food, cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs there is no limit to how much money you can collect and how much damage you can do by collecting it.
If UMNO want to hold Najib under house arrest and are prepared to prevent reforms to get their way, then let him be held under house arrest. Someone else contributes to the bill after all. In addition make sure the house is a small one, he is tagged, he gets treated for the mental illnesses he has and he is kept well away from the money and its addicts.
1. Sebelum Kerajaan Madani mengambil alih pentabiran negara, kerajaan sebelum itu telah meninggalkan satu sistem sosial politik yg amat bobrok sekali bagi Malaysia. Ciri-ciri kebobrokan yg rumit itu merentasi banyak daerah seperti antaranya budaya, ekonomi, pendidikan, perundangan dan hubungan kaum. Maka adalah amat sulit sekali juga untuk kerajeen baharu yg berfalsafah ” Madani” untuk memberi penyelesaian ‘segera’ kpd rakyat Malaysia apatah lagi daya2 untuk memperlekehkan kepimpinan PMX tetap berdenyut saban hari. 2. PMX sedaya upaya cuba memperkenalkan beberapa ikhtiar untuk sedikit sebanyak memulihkan sistem bobrok yg diwarisi sementara geng2 anti-PMX dan sewaktu dengannya semakin rakus dan tidak cerdik meneruskan projek mereka nak memperlekehkan pentadbiran Madani. NGO Bersih yg bijakbistari itu telah memberi gred D kpd prestasi Kerajaan PMX tanpa memberi solusi praktikal yg andaikata PMX tumbang secara kilat dek satu daya/inisiatif luar biasa, siapa agaknya yg boleh mengganti pesona PMX? Apakah oreng2 seperti Atok 99, Hadi Awang, Mahaidin Yassin, Semburit, Siti Kassim, Papagomo, Cikgu Bad dan yg sejatu dgnnya boleh memulih negara? 3. Rencana Francis Loh banyak mempamerkan aktiviti yg tampaknya Kerajaan Madani terlepas pandang untuk menangani segera isu-isu berkenaan sedangkan isu2 itu tidak pula diatasi… Read more »
For gaining more Malay support, the best move is drastically reduce their socioeconomic insecurities by significantly increasing the minimum wage, level of welfare, pension for the elderly, living standards in rural areas and low-cost flats, etc.
But the government will use lack of funds as an excuse. Which is why they must stop being so pro-capitalist and pro-investors, and work together with other ASEAN countries to raise taxes against FDIs.
Also, politicians must have their unnecessarily high wages and benefits cut and added to government funds. The existing funds should be prioritized towards such pro-people programs; any unnecessary expenditure should be stopped. Ultimately, it’s about having political will to do the right thing.