Former Prime Minister Najib has two ways to go after being jailed, namely to apply for judicial review and to apply for a pardon from the head of state.
Former Prime Minister Najib has lost his appeal in the RM42 million misappropriation of funds by SRC International and is serving his sentence in jail with immediate effect. Najib has two options after his imprisonment, which are to apply for a judicial review and to apply for a pardon from the head of state. If all goes well, Najib is also expected to be exempted from up to 12 years of prison sentence.
Najib can apply to the Federal Court for judicial review, that is, to ask a new group of judges to review the Federal Court’s five divisions today’s decision. Najib’s lead defense attorney, Paul Cheng, also pointed out today that his legal team will explore the possibility of filing a judicial review of the Court’s Fifth Division decision.
If the judicial review fails, Najib’s application to the head of state for a pardon is the last resort. As long as Najib is granted a pardon by the head of state under Article 48 of the federal constitution, he will be released immediately and will be entitled to his former prime minister’s pension and can go straight back to the general election.
In addition to the SRC abuse of power case, Najib also faces several court cases, such as 1MDB revised audit report case, International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) breach of trust case.