Supporters of jailed ex-PM Najib rally for royal pardon

Supporters of Malaysian ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak rallied Wednesday outside the national palace to seek royal pardon just a day after he began a 12-year jail term, while opponents launched an online petition urging the monarch not to.
Najib, 69, was jailed Tuesday after losing the final appeal in a graft case linked to the massive looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund. His incarceration comes four years after his election ouster over the scandal and was celebrated by many citizens as justice served.
But Najib’s supporters, echoing his words before he was whisked off to prison, say he wasn’t fairly treated because the top court threw out his bid for a retrial on allegations of judicial bias, and repeatedly refused to delay the hearing to give his lawyers time to prepare.
Some 300 of Najib’s supporters, mostly dressed in black, rallied briefly outside the national palace Wednesday under police watch. Several representatives later handed a memorandum seeking pardon for Najib to the palace.
Parliament House Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun reportedly said Wednesday that Najib must apply for a royal pardon within 14 days or lose his seat in Parliament. There was no word from Najib’s camp if he will seek a royal pardon.