COMMENT | If the Pardons Board decides later this month that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is to be pardoned for the offences he was sentenced to jail for 12 years, it will be a disaster for Malaysia, setting the country back decades and making a mockery of the rule of law.

And if Pakatan Harapan, PKR and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim think that this will garner them support from Malays and bring in the Malay votes to ensure another term at the top office, they are going to be very sadly mistaken. The bare, bald figures don’t show that.

Let’s take each in turn. First Najib has been unanimously found guilty of seven charges - one of abuse of power, three of criminal breach of trust and three of money laundering - involving RM42 million. He was jailed for 12 years and fined RM210 million.

Now here’s the rub. He was found guilty by a High Court judge and then unanimously by a three-member Court of Appeal and then by a five-member Federal Court, also unanimously.

He went to jail on Aug 23, 2022. Less than one and half years later of a 12-year sentence, he expects an unprecedented pardon.

Najib and his lawyers have been pushing for a pardon, saying that he did not...