SHAH ALAM – Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has refuted reports that he called for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve time in prison for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.
He was quoted in the Asia Times website as "Umno's No. 2 thinks Najib should go to jail,".
Mohamad who is known as Tok Mat said he was misquoted.
"That is inaccurate. What I said (during the interview) was that Najib should get a fair trial.
"If he is convicted, so be it. But what is important is that he has to get a fair trial," he was quoted in The Star.
He was also quoted in Asia Times that Najib should not expect special treatment from an Umno-led government if he is eventually jailed on graft charges.
"The court is the place where you can prove whether you're innocent or not. He (Najib) didn't prove it. He couldn't prove it.
Everybody has to pay their dues. But if we want to pardon, he (Najib) has to go through the process. He'll have to go inside first."
Tok Mat further said he was explaining the pardon process in Malaysia.
He was cited as stating by the portal: "The court is the place where you can prove whether you're innocent or not.”
"I was only saying that the pardon process usually starts after the individual has started serving his sentence. That is all," he said.
Najib was found guilty in July 2020 of violating the public trust, abusing his position of authority, and money laundering in connection with the theft of RM42 million from SRC International.
He was thus given a 12-year prison term and a RM 210 million fine. In December of last year, the sentence was upheld by three Court of Appeal justices.