Najib Razak's 'solidarity fund' raises US$2.27 million, still short of US$12.27 million target: DPM Zahid

The jailed former Malaysian prime minister’s eldest son told reporters that even if his father's frozen assets were released, his family would still be unable to immediately raise the fine for Najib to serve his sentence at home as part of a royal pardon.

KUALA LUMPUR: Some RM9.25 million (US$2.27 million) has been raised to help jailed former Malaysian premier Najib Razak pay a RM50 million court-imposed fine for him to serve his sentence at home as part of a royal pardon.

Meanwhile, his eldest son, Nizar Najib, said that even if his father’s frozen assets were released, his family would still be unable to immediately raise the RM50 million fine.

The “Najib Razak Solidarity Fund” was organised by his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party on Sep 18 after Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar granted Najib a conditional pardon.

The pardon allows him to serve the remainder of his six-year prison term - until Aug 23, 2028 - at home, subject to the payment of the fine, among other conditions.

“As of 10am, we have collected RM9.25 million so far,” Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also UMNO president, was quoted as saying on Sunday by local news outlet The Star.

Zahid was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 18th annual general assembly of the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.

“This is still insufficient to reach the RM50 million target. Efforts are ongoing to increase the crowdfunding and we hope our friends will be able to assist us in the near future to reach the amount set by the Pardons Board.”

“The amount must be settled before the house arrest can be fully implemented,” Zahid added.

The fund raised RM634,000 in its first three hours and reached RM1 million about a day after it was launched.

It is unclear how UMNO is currently managing the donations, with no reported details on what would happen to the money collected if the amount falls short of of RM50 million.

On Saturday, Najib’s eldest son, Nizar, said that if his father’s frozen assets were released, it "might help somewhat in raising the money".