SHAH ALAM - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes there is a high possibility that Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is currently in prison will receive royal pardon at some point in time.
The Langkawi MP also regretted the delay in the trial which involved the embezzlement of SRC International’s RM42 million fund involving Najib, which caused many other cases to be delayed.
"There is an English saying ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ that we can translate as delayed justice is justice that is neglected.
"Because Najib’s SRC case took a very long time (four years), many cases of theft, abuse of power, and corruption involving many political figures were delayed and did not face the court.
"Some criminals died. The delay in the trial will result in justice being ignored,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
The Federal Court on Tuesday rejected Najib’s final appeal to set aside his conviction and the fines imposed against him in connection with the misappropriation of funds of SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The five-judge panel chaired by the Chief Justice, Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat unanimously made the decision after finding that the Kuala Lumpur High Court had made the correct decision and had not been disqualified when convicting Najib of the charges.
The chairman of the Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) said Najib was currently on trial on other cases that would also take a long time.
"The delay was made worse because of the treatment of Najib and his lawyers who used various excuses to obstruct the trial. I believe the judges are also distressed with so many pending cases.
"Many reports are being made now on serious corruption cases that have not been sentenced. It is very likely that criminals will escape punishment for crimes committed by them.
"It is true that as the English saying goes that delayed justice is a neglected justice, for Najib it is very likely that he will be pardoned after being imprisoned,” he said.