Najib may seek reelection to Parliament despite conviction

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has not ruled out seeking re-election to parliament within the next two years, despite a corruption conviction that would block him from running.

Najib was found guilty of corruption last year and sentenced to 12 years in jail over one of many cases over the misappropriation of money from now-defunct state fund 1MDB.

He has denied wrongdoing and has appealed the verdict, while calling for a probe of his prosecution which he says was politically motivated.

He is still a member of parliament but the constitution bars him from contesting elections unless he gets a pardon or a reprieve from the country’s monarch.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview on Saturday, Najib challenged his disqualification, saying: “It is subject to interpretation.”

“It depends on interpretation in terms of the law, the constitution and whatever happens in court proceedings,” Najib said.

Asked if he would contest the next elections due by 2023, he said: “Any politician who would want to play a role would want a seat in parliament.”

Najib added that he has discussed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob a possible role for him in government.

Media reports have said he could be made an economic adviser.

The former premier would not say if he would accept a position, saying his priority was on clearing his name.

He also said Umno’s return to power guarantees “temporary political stability” and that he would not call for early elections, like he had with Ismail Sabri’s predecessor Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

A future Najib candidacy would face a constitutional provision that any person sentenced to imprisonment for more than one year or fined more than RM2,000 is disqualified from contesting a parliamentary election.

Constitutional lawyer New Sin Yew said Najib can run only if he succeeds in his appeal, receives a royal pardon, or if the king uses his discretion to remove the disqualification despite the conviction remaining in place.

Malaysian and US authorities say more than US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, some of which went into Najib’s bank accounts.

The US Department of Justice has described the scandal as “kleptocracy at its worst”.

Najib, who faces more than 40 charges of abuse of power, money laundering and other offences mostly linked to 1MDB, said he can prove his innocence even as many entities and individuals around the world have admitted guilt or paid hefty penalties and settlements over the scandal.

Malaysian prosecutors have said Najib, who co-founded 1MDB in 2009, played a central role.

Since his election defeat, the United States has returned to Malaysia more than US$1 billion in funds it recouped from assets bought with stolen 1MDB money.

Najib said the charges against him were politically motivated and he is pushing for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into former Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas of the postUmno government, who first brought the cases against him in 2018.

“I’ve been insisting on it. The RCI is to establish that it will be a fair and just trial for everyone, not just for me,” he said.

Najib said he had discussed the proposal with Ismail Sabri, who has so far not agreed to it, and he had also discussed it with Muhyiddin, who rejected it.