KUALA LUMPUR - A majority of Malaysians said in a survey that former premier Najib Razak should not be pardoned for his role in the 1MDB scandal, even as he is fighting in court to serve the remainder of his jail sentence at home.

The survey found that 57.8 per cent of 1,210 respondents opposed a pardon for Najib for reasons such as betrayal of public trust, significant financial losses, ongoing legal cases, and his refusal to admit guilt.

Objections were markedly higher among groups such as urban dwellers, individuals with higher household monthly incomes, and those with internet access, said Mr Thomas Fann, a spokesman for the civil society group Project Stability and Accountability Malaysia (Projek SAMA), which commissioned the survey.

The survey also showed that 32.7 per cent of the respondents supported Najib’s pardon plea on the grounds that he had contributed to the nation. It was conducted between March 27 and April 17 through phone calls, with a 2.82 per cent margin of error.

The results of the survey was released on May 9, the seventh anniversary of the May 9, 2018, general election which toppled Najib as prime minister after the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition that he led failed to win a parliamentary majority for the first time in the 61 years since Malaysia’s independence.

Najib, 71, was Malaysia’s prime minister for nine years. He was arrested in July 2018 and charged for breach of trust and abusing power in a case linked to sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

He was convicted by the court and, in August 2022, started serving a 12-year jail sentence for misappropriating RM42 million (S$12.7 million) of funds from SRC International, a former company under 1MDB.

The jail sentence was halved in 2024 by then-Malaysian King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who chaired a Pardons Board meeting. Najib’s original fine of RM210 million was also reduced to RM50 million.