Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said Umno was working towards fulfilling the request by Najib and his family for the former prime minister to be given a full pardon in his SRC International case.

“We should respect the decision announced by the Pardons Board, which was chaired by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It is also the King’s prerogative under Article 42(1) of the Federal Constitution (to grant pardons).

“Therefore everyone, including the lawyer, must respect the decision. Looking forward, we will take the necessary steps under the law to work on Najib’s release,” he told reporters after an event here today.

On Feb 2, the FTPB announced a reduction of Najib’s prison sentence in the SRC International case from 12 years to six, and reduced his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million with an additional year added to the sentence if he failed to pay the amount.

Najib’s supporters, notably from Umno, had expressed disappointment with the decision.

Yesterday, Shafee said Najib’s legal team was considering submitting another petition for a full pardon and would wait for the right time to file the petition.

Shafee also highlighted what he described as discrepancies in the press release issued by the Pardons Board’s secretariat, which stated that Najib would be given a 50% reduction of his jail term and fine.

“This is a very clumsy sentence, not by the King, but by the secretariat or whoever drafted it. Somebody didn’t do the arithmetic,” he said.

“But the worse thing is this document seems to suggest it was the Pardons Board that made the decision, not the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”

He said the wording of the document suggested that the FTPB had “listened to their own advice” in deciding to commute Najib’s sentence.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.