GEORGE TOWN — A petition against a royal pardon to free and release the former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has garnered more than 140,000 signatures while another petition in support of the royal pardon has recorded 9,400 signatures.

The first is a petition to His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah titled “Petisyen kepada KDYMM Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Najib Tidak Wajar Diampunkan”.

Launched by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), the petition appealed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to deny any appeal for a pardon by Najib as he had brought shame to the country.

“As a nation, we must not tolerate corruption or the corrupt, whoever that person may be,” Bersih said in the petition.

The petition further stated that Najib should serve his 12 years of jail sentence and pay the RM210 million fine to serve as an example to “other leaders who think they can corruptly abuse their position of authority.”

The petition recorded 140,076 signatures as of 6pm today and would be one of the top signed petitions on Change.org if it reaches its target of 150,000.

Meanwhile, another petition launched today by Ariff Lias titled “Bebaskan Najib Razak Melalui Pengampunan Diraja (Free Najib Razak via a royal pardon)”, also on Change.org, recorded 9,423 signatures out of a 10,000 target as of 6pm today.

The petition appealed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to grant Najib a royal pardon for the reasons that the trial was unfair and a flawed judicial system.

The petition claimed that Najib was denied his basic rights to a fair trial and that there was a serious perversion of justice so he should be released immediately. MM