Pakatan Harapan has been urged to go on the offensive ahead of the next general election, with PKR’s Hassan Karim saying the conditional pardon granted to former prime minister Najib Razak had “changed the Malaysian political landscape”.
Hassan, the Pasir Gudang MP, said PH must make full use of what he described as a “golden opportunity”, claiming that Najib had become a burden on Umno and PAS as public anger over the conditional pardon began to grow.
“Before Najib was pardoned, Anwar Ibrahim was very much on the defensive, being the prime minister, PKR president and PH chairman. He was openly criticised, including on social media,” Hassan said in a statement this evening.
“Now the winds have changed. With Najib’s (conditional) pardon and reduced sentence, sympathy for him over his time in prison has evaporated. The people are beginning to grow angry when they see that the country’s justice system has two tiers: one for ordinary people and another for upper-class political elites,” he said.
Najib a burden to Umno and PAS, says Hassan
Hassan said Najib’s record as an Umno leader was not particularly glorious, pointing to the party’s defeat in the 2018 general election amid the 1MDB scandal.
He said this followed cooperation between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin, both former Umno leaders, and PH in bringing together Malays and non-Malays to reject Najib over the 1MDB scandal.
“Politically, Najib has become a burden to Umno as well as PAS. How can Umno and PAS now talk about a clean and trustworthy government when Najib has appeared before the people as a questionable symbol of a touted government-in-waiting?” he said.
Najib allowed to serve sentence at home
Najib, 73, has been allowed to serve the remainder of his six-year jail sentence at home, provided he pays the RM50 million fine imposed in his SRC International case.
The Prime Minister’s Department said the conditional pardon was granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, following a meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board on Friday.
