Najib keeps guessing game going amid countdown to polls

Jailed former prime minister Najib Razak has yet to indicate his support for either side of the political divide ahead of keenly awaited elections in six states, after efforts by his party Umno to win him a royal pardon earlier this year were left in limbo.

The latest efforts to free Najib, who is serving a 12-year jail term for corruption, began around April when Umno said it would seek an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah for a pardon. 

Four months later, though, Najib remains in prison with his supporters in the dark over whom to rally behind come polling day in Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan on Aug 12. 

Wan Azri Wan Deris, popularly known as Papagomo, and self-proclaimed Najib supporter Syed Muhammad Imran Syed Abdul Aziz, recently held a programme called "Bossku Nak Apa?", a reference to the moniker adopted by the former leader after his fall from power in 2018. 

There, Syed Muhammad Imran claimed that Najib's supporters had lost patience with Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and switched allegiance to federal opposition pact Perikatan Nasional (PN) instead. 

According to Najib's daughter Nooryana Najwa, however, neither of the two represent the former Pekan MP. 

She also said that any official stand by her father would be published on his social media channels. 

Najib's stand?

For several months now, Najib's Facebook account has been featuring posts satirising Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and listing out the achievements under the former prime minister's administration, which came to an end at the 14th general election. 

Rafizi, the PKR deputy president, was among the main opposition leaders who had heavily criticised Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor during Barisan Nasional's (BN) time in power. 

In a Facebook post several days ago, on July 31, Najib had mocked Rafizi over the drop in oil price, which Rafizi said would affect other initiatives for the people. 

A Najib supporter who called himself Zam Yahaya told MalaysiaNow it was no secret that the former prime minister's family was unhappy about the lack of progress in his pardon bid. 

"Najib's camp is now split into three, one of which supports Pakatan Harapan (PH)," he said, referring to BN's current partner in the federal administration. 

"Another supports only BN and will boycott the polls if there are no candidates from the coalition. 

"The third will support PN in protest against the government which is seen as delaying his pardon." 

Zam said Syed Muhammad Imran had made a statement to this effect two days after meeting with Rosmah, who is herself facing a string of charges in court. 

Whither votes?

Political analyst Azizi Safar said Najib would not support PN or instruct his supporters to do so at the upcoming polls. 

"The state elections cannot change the position of the federal government or cause it to fall," he told MalaysiaNow. 

"If there is no change in government, it will have no effect on his cases." 

Azizi, a former executive secretary for Penang BN, also said that Najib knew the procedures and conditions for a royal pardon. 

"It would be difficult for the Pardons Board to consider a pardon for him, given that he still has many cases ongoing in court," he said.

"He could be a little upset because some other cases involving 1MDB have been laid on him as well."