Don’t use national debt to deny Najib’s right to pardon, says Gulam

KUALA LUMPUR: An Umno division chief has hit out at those opposing a pardon for former prime minister Najib Razak, saying the country’s rising debt should not be used as justification to deny his constitutional rights.

Umno Batu chief Gulam Muszaffar said those blaming Najib and the 1MDB scandal for the government’s debt burden appeared to overlook the increase in national debt since 2018.

He claimed national debt stood at about RM680 billion in 2018 but had since risen to RM1.3 trillion under three finance ministers – Lim Guan Eng, Tengku Zafrul Aziz and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“If RM680 billion was enough for Pakatan Harapan to claim that the country was on the brink of bankruptcy, what does RM1.3 trillion mean today?” he said in a statement today.

Gulam said that during the Barisan Nasional administration, the country saw the implementation of major infrastructure projects including the MRT, LRT, KLIA2, Pan Borneo Highway, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

He also claimed that strategic national assets and holdings under Khazanah Nasional were expanded during the period.

“Since 2018, not a single mega project has been produced,” he said, adding that some projects completed and launched after 2018 had originated from initiatives undertaken during Najib’s administration.

Gulam said it was unfair for the government to take credit for such projects while continuing to blame Najib for the country’s debt and the 1MDB scandal.
“Najib, Najib, Najib,” he said, criticising what he described as a tendency to repeatedly use the former prime minister as a scapegoat even after his imprisonment.

On the issue of a pardon for Najib, Gulam said determining whether he deserved one was separate from the constitutional right of a prisoner to seek a pardon.

He said Article 42 of the Federal Constitution provided the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the authority to grant pardons, reprieves or respites in respect of offences tried by courts within the Federal Territories and certain other jurisdictions.

“Whether he is deserving or not is a separate question. But the rights of a Malaysian citizen must be protected under the rule of law,” he said.

Gulam said even individuals convicted of serious crimes remained entitled to seek clemency under the constitutional framework.

He also accused Najib’s critics of applying a “double standard” in the way they viewed the former premier’s case.

“Do not practise double standards or selective treatment,” he said.

Gulam ended his statement by echoing remarks made by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the party’s general assembly yesterday, saying: “A teacher who urinates standing should not expect his students to urinate while running.”
“Stop, teacher!” he said.