Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the Supreme Council will also seek an audience with the King to present a memorandum asking for Najib to be pardoned.

In a statement, Asyraf said the memorandum was handed to the top leadership by the 191 Umno divisions and was also signed by the Supreme Council.

He said the memorandum was also signed by the women, youth and Puteri wings of all 191 divisions.

“The Supreme Council takes note of the grassroots’ concerns over the (Federal Court’s) decision (to dismiss Najib’s bid to review his conviction and sentence in the SRC case),” he said.

In a majority decision last Friday, the Federal Court dismissed Najib’s bid to review his conviction and sentence.

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abdul Rahman Sebli, the sole dissenting judge on the five-member panel, said the court’s refusal to grant an adjournment of the main appeal had deprived Najib of his right to be represented by an effective counsel.

He also said he found nothing in the materials before the court to suggest that Najib’s defence team, which was revamped three weeks prior to the appeal, was seeking an adjournment as part of a “ploy” or “strategy” to delay the hearing.

The other four judges who heard the application to review were Justices Vernon Ong, Rhodzariah Bujang, Nordin Hassan and Abu Bakar Jais.

Najib was convicted in July 2020 on charges of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust over SRC funds amounting to RM42 million.

He was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million. He began serving his prison term on Aug 23, 2022, after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, followed by the Federal Court upholding the original conviction and sentence.

Meanwhile, Asyraf said Umno will be holding its annual general meeting from June 7 to 10.

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