Home TA Online Pardon for Najib? It’s unthinkable!

Pardon for Najib? It’s unthinkable!

He has made Malaysia poorer by the huge sums that were looted

Convict Najib must remain in prision - THE STAR

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Najib has hardly spent a day in prison, yet there is already a clamouring for his pardon. It’s just unbelievable!

To his utter shame, he has been proclaimed the greatest kleptocrat in the world. Does he deserve a pardon?

Najib has been responsible for the greatest unconscionable theft of the nation’s wealth, without neither remorse nor repentance so far. Yet some Umno supporters have forgotten his crime that has brought this country to its heel economically.

He has shamed the nation, ruined the country and tarnished our dignity beyond repair. His evil deed has forever and irrevocably soiled our reputation in the eyes of the world.

Such was the gravity of his crime he is beyond clemency and even pardon – undeserving of any decent nation’s show of mercy.

It is a matter of deep concern that his unthinking, blind Umno followers have not judged with the gravity it deserves his heinous crime against the nation and the years it would take to pay back the sums that were looted.

Seeking a pardon so soon after his conviction turns the judicial process into a travesty and makes a mockery of the judiciary, which sat through countless hours of hearings stretching over four years. It took great effort to plough through voluminous evidence before he was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt. That effort should not go to waste.

Every crime committed must be punished to deter others from such a foray. Such crimes are detrimental to any society. The punishment meted out shouldn’t be nullified by the granting of the merciful fruit of pardon.

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When a person is found guilty, he joins the ranks of common criminals; they should all be treated alike. But in the case of an MP, he enjoys a special privilege of an appeal if made within 14 days to remain as an MP following his conviction. A common prisoner has to wait for four years before he or she is entitled to appeal for a pardon. This smacks of a double standard!

Why should there be this difference? Lest we forget, with political influence and the attendant pressure brought upon, the convicted politician stands a better chance of being pardoned than a common person in a similar situation.

In this case, the politician happens to be the former prime minister of Malaysia; can you imagine the impact he has on the entire system of governance? He enjoys an undue advantage and can be the beneficiary of the appeal for pardon immediately.

Considering the severity of Najib’s crime, economically and socially – the theft runs into billions of ringgit – does he truly deserve a pardon? What was stolen has burdened us for the next two generations. He has made Malaysia poorer by the huge sums that were looted. We have to service this loan and it will take many years to do that.

It also means that the time taken to settle this mountainous debt will deny the poor, deserving Malaysians the welfare benefits they are entitled to. With these otherwise available funds, we could have built hundreds of schools and hospitals, housed thousands of our poor and homeless, provided adequate medicines for our sick and taken care of our elderly with better amenities.

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Our nation has lost this capacity to celebrate the lives of Malaysians because of Najib. Does he deserve a pardon for this massive loss that we have unjustly suffered? A clear majority of Malaysians would loudly say, “No!”

The granting of a pardon by the relevant authority must be alive to the present mood of Malaysians and cannot ignore their anger against Najib for his ghastly conduct that has brought ruin and shame to Malaysia. Be assured that the backlash will be one of outrage if a pardon is granted or even any clemency extended.

Najib’s theft of the nation’s wealth was a wilful act that cannot be glossed over. According to a Welsh proverb, “A wilful fault has no excuse, and deserves no pardon.”

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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Peter
Peter
1 Sep 2022 2.12pm

Majority rakyat believed it was takdir for DSNR. Nobody is above the Almighty GOD.

Sathiyamurthi
Sathiyamurthi
1 Sep 2022 2.00pm

Sir
Ianm a trainer for Amla.ex banker having work in 7 banks.
There is weakness in our AMLA reporting

Politi Schess
1 Sep 2022 12.52pm

It is “unthinkable” for us urban, educated, English-literate, middle-class, mostly pro-Pakatan Harapan or anti-UMNO/BN people, but when it comes to elections, it is what the rural and semi-rural voters who are UMNO’s vote base and who live in a parallel universe from us and who deliver most of the seats in parliament and the state assemblies think, rightly or wrongly.

If the majority of rural and semi-rural voters, as well as the lower income urban voters think like us, BN would have been out of power a long time ago, but from the looks of it, BN could come back stronger in GE15.

Jeffery Lim
Jeffery Lim
28 Aug 2022 4.24pm

Let him ROT in prison. Make sure he doesn’t have VIP facilities in prison. He should be prosecuted for life imprisonment without pardon for his heinous crimes…!

Paul Lim
Paul Lim
28 Aug 2022 2.24pm

Is he going to be in the company of Trump? Escaping prison will be unbelievable! What mental control has he got over his supporters. The whole world should know of Najib and what kind of country is Malaysia.

Teres
27 Aug 2022 2.15pm

Thank you Mr P. Ramakrishnan for voicing my thoughts and the many right thinking Malaysians. Thank you.

Lao you
Lao you
26 Aug 2022 9.14am

Definitely no to such appeal

Stephen Tan Ban Cheng
Stephen Tan Ban Cheng
25 Aug 2022 11.57pm

HARLOT OR EUNUCH?

Throughout the ages, the exercise of power without the ambient responsibility has always been the prerogative of the harlot.

When a powerful person pleads that he was the victim of manoeuvering and subterfuge, then he abdicates his responsibility despite the power he used to enjoy. He has described himself as a harlot. Similarly, when he says he has the responsibility without the power, he has likened himself to a eunuch.

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