Najib fundraising hits RM1 million as MACC questions minister over fertilizer delays

The fundraising campaign launched by UMNO to raise RM50 million for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s conditional pardon reached the RM1 million milestone, according to secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. The pardon, granted by the Federal Territories Pardons Board, will allow Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until August 2028, provided he pays the fine. Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar clarified that the conditional pardon applies only to the jail term from the SRC International case.

In a separate development, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has taken statements from Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu and the ministry’s secretary-general as part of a probe into delayed fertilizer deliveries in Kedah, with 37 witnesses slated to testify and the inquiry expected to finish within two weeks. MACC chief commissioner Abd Halim Aman said the focus is on criminal aspects, postponing governance issues for now. The investigations run alongside other regional initiatives, such as Sabah’s plan to revive barter trade with the southern Philippines, announced by Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister Ewon Benedick.