Malaysia's Ruling Party Pushes to Free Jailed Ex-PM

A major party in Malaysia's government will this week renew its push to free the country's imprisoned former leader. The United Malays National Organisation (Umno) will demand a full pardon for ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MDB financial scandal. His party, Umno, was voted out in 2018 because of the scandal. Now, Umno is a key member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's ruling coalition. Party officials say resolutions for Najib's pardon were the "hottest topic" submitted for its annual meeting. The move comes as Umno stops threatening to leave Anwar's government. The party says it will stay in the coalition while fighting for its former leader's release. The push creates a difficult situation for Prime Minister Anwar. He leads a reformist alliance but depends on Umno's support to stay in power.