Former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil has welcomed the decision allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, while calling on Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming to resign and DAP to leave the unity government.
Isham, a staunch Najib supporter, said he would give the former prime minister time to rest before resuming their regular conversations.
“Alhamdulillah, Datuk Seri Najib has been granted house arrest. He can rest for a week or two first, then we can have our chats as we used to,” he said in a social media post following the announcement.
He also called on Nga to step down as minister and urged DAP to withdraw from the unity government.
“Nga Kor Ming can now resign as minister, and DAP can now leave the government,” he said.
Isham also directed his criticism at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, urging him to prepare to leave office and seek the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s consent to dissolve Parliament.
“Anwar, get ready to pack up your office and go and seek an audience with the King to dissolve Parliament,” he wrote.
His call for Nga’s resignation appeared to refer to comments made by the DAP leader during the Johor election campaign in July. Nga had said he would resign if Najib was released without serving a sentence commensurate with his offence.
The latest decision allows Najib to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of the RM50 million fine and compliance with conditions imposed under the conditional pardon. If the conditions are breached, the pardon can be revoked and Najib would have to return to prison.
The decision was made at the 64th meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board at Istana Negara today, a week after consideration of Najib’s application was deferred at the board’s Sept 11 meeting.
Najib, 73, began serving his sentence at Kajang Prison on Aug 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction on seven charges involving RM42 million belonging to SRC International. His original 12-year prison term and RM210 million fine were reduced to six years and RM50 million respectively following the Pardons Board’s decision in 2024.
Isham did not elaborate on his call for DAP to leave the unity government beyond linking it to the latest development involving Najib.
Najib is also serving a separate 15-year prison sentence imposed by the High Court last year after he was convicted on 25 charges involving the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds. He has appealed against that conviction and sentence.
