(Bloomberg) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed an apology from imprisoned former premier Najib Razak, who is seeking leniency for his crimes related to the multibillion dollar 1MDB scandal.
Anwar said while his stance on 1MDB is well known, it was not fair to single out one person for the goings-on in the sovereign wealth fund. His comments come ahead of a High Court decision this week on whether to acquit Najib in another case involving 1MDB.
“Najib made a statement ‘I apologize for what happened with 1MDB’ and so on,” Anwar said in a speech on Sunday. “I’m the prime minister, the father of the nation. When someone says that what can I do? I said we received it well.”
The 71-year-old Najib apologized last week for mishandling the scandal that saw some $4.5 billion stolen from the state coffers during his time in office. The former premier has also been seeking to serve the rest of his jail sentence at home after it was halved to six years in January by a royal pardon though a Malaysian court has dismissed his petition.
Anwar rose to power in 2022 on a promise to crack down on graft, but took a hit to his credibility after forming a coalition with the United Malays National Organisation, the party that Najib once led. UMNO has vowed to defend Najib — and the party’s continued support is crucial for Anwar to stay in office.
Anwar said on Sunday that Najib’s cases would remain a court matter, and reiterated that he maintains a tough stance on corruption. He also asked his party to acknowledge UMNO’s help in keeping the government together, and to defend their ongoing cooperation.
In delivering his budget speech on Oct. 18, Anwar said the government will draft a new act to allow home detention for certain offenses, which stirred speculation in Malaysia that it was to help Najib. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Friday that the proposal isn’t related to Najib or any other individual.
Najib apologized in a letter on Thursday for allowing the scandal to unfold while he was prime minister, but denied any criminal involvement in the scheme. He also said he didn’t realize money sent to his bank accounts came from 1MDB funds. Authorities have said Najib received more than $1 billion traceable from 1MDB.
“I am still in deep shock knowing now the extent of the wretched and unconscionable shenanigans, and illegal things that happened in 1MDB,” he said in the letter read out by his son. “I deeply regret what has taken place.”
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