Majority of Malaysians against pardon for ex-PM Najib in 1MDB scandal, survey finds

KUALA LUMPUR - A majority of Malaysians said in a survey that former premier Najib Razak should not be pardoned for his role in the 1MDB scandal, even as he is fighting in court to serve the remainder of his jail sentence at home.

The survey found that 57.8 per cent of 1,210 respondents opposed a pardon for Najib for reasons such as betrayal of public trust, significant financial losses, ongoing legal cases, and his refusal to admit guilt.

Objections were markedly higher among groups such as urban dwellers, individuals with higher household monthly incomes, and those with internet access, said Mr Thomas Fann, a spokesman for the civil society group Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), which commissioned the survey.

The survey also showed that 32.7 per cent of the respondents supported Najib’s pardon plea on the grounds that he had contributed to the nation.

It was conducted between March 27 and April 17 through phone calls, with a 2.82 per cent margin of error.

The results of the survey were released on May 9, the seventh anniversary of the May 9, 2018, general election that toppled Najib as prime minister after the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that he led failed to win a parliamentary majority for the first time in the 61 years since Malaysia’s independence.

Najib, 71, was the country’s prime minister for nine years. He was arrested in July 2018 and charged with breach of trust and abuse of power in a case linked to Malaysia’s state fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

He was convicted by the court and, in August 2022, started serving a 12-year jail sentence for misappropriating RM42 million (S$12.7 million) of funds from SRC International, a former company under 1MDB.

The jail sentence was halved in 2024 by the then

Malaysian King

, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who chaired a Pardons Board meeting. Najib’s original fine of RM210 million was also reduced to RM50 million.

Since then, Najib has been pursuing a legal bid to compel the government to confirm and execute an “addendum order”, which he claimed was also issued by Sultan Abdullah to the Pardons Board and entitled him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

Malaysia’s apex Federal Court on April 28 granted the

Attorney-General’s application

to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s nod for Najib to apply the home detention order.

Unsurprisingly, Najib received the highest backing for a pardon from BN supporters in the survey, with 67.7 per cent in favour, followed by 44.6 per cent from supporters of opposition alliance Perikatan Nasional (PN).

In contrast, 87.3 per cent of supporters of Pakatan Harapan, the alliance that leads the current government, were opposed to a pardon, along with 57.1 per cent of voters who identified themselves as “others”, 54.9 per cent of supporters of East Malaysian parties, and 46.1 per cent of PN supporters.

Mr Adib Zalkapli, managing director of political risk consultancy Viewfinder Global Affairs, said Najib’s legacy has prevailed among his supporters.

“He is a former prime minister and former president of Umno; naturally he still enjoys some support from within and outside the party,” he told The Straits Times.

Najib is also facing other charges linked to the 1MDB scandal. The US Department of Justice said US$4.5 billion (S$5.8 billion) was siphoned off by top Malaysian officials.