KUALA LUMPUR – Umno leaders are standing united to continue the fight for justice for their former president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said party secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
This follows the party’s closed-door emergency meeting today, which involved Umno division leaders, as well as executive council members of its women’s, youth, and Puteri wings.
“After almost two hours in the meeting, the leadership has unanimously agreed to continue the fight for justice for Najib,” he told reporters after the meeting at the party headquarters at Menara Dato’ Onn.
Meanwhile, respecting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decision, Asyraf warned against “imprudent voices” disputing it, as it is the ruler’s absolute power to make such decisions.
The Pardons Board secretariat for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya recently announced that Najib’s jail term was halved from 12 years to six years, while his fine was also slashed from RM210 million to RM50 million.
However, Najib would have to serve an additional year in prison if he fails to pay the fine.
At the same time, when asked if former Damansara MP Tony Pua’s recent remarks about Najib’s sentence reduction would cause a rift in the government, Asyraf said Pua did not represent the administration. Nonetheless, he underscored the importance of lodging police reports against the former lawmaker.
Pua has been commenting on Najib’s sentence reduction on his social media accounts ever since the announcement was made on Friday.
Pua’s actions did not sit right with some Umno leaders, including vice-president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who labelled the remarks as “cheap publicity,” as well as Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, who said the wing would be lodging police reports nationwide.
Pua is now being investigated for sedition over his criticism, under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, as well as for misusing network facilities under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. – February 4, 2024