THE Pardons Board did not discuss allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve his jail term at home when it met on January 29, unnamed government officials told Channel NewsAsia.
The sources said the matter was not brought up by the six-member board when it ruled on Najib’s pardon application.
The CNA report said Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, then king and chairman of the Pardons Board, had issued a supplementary order for Najib’s house arrest “before he completed his five-year reign in end-January”.
The officials said the Attorney-General’s Chamber had objected to placing Najib under house arrest instead of jail because the supplementary order was not brought up in the meeting.
Attempts by the former prime minister to seek house arrest could shake up national politics and place the unity government in a fix.
Najib, 70, has filed a judicial review application to the High Court to allow him to serve the rest of his jail term at home.
He claims that then King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had issued an order that he be allowed to serve the reduced sentence of his imprisonment at home instead of confinement in Kajang Prison.
Najib is seeking a copy of that “supplementary order” dated January 29, 2024.
If the order exists, it would compel the government to release him from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur.
Najib said the former king had issued the order during a meeting of the board.
The application was filed by his solicitor Messrs Shafee & Co.
The former prime minister also claims that the supplementary order, or addendum order, was omitted when his partial pardon was announced on February 2.
Just two months ago, the Pardons Board halved his 12-year jail sentence for corruption in connection with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). His fine of RM210 million (US$44.3 million) was cut to RM50 million.
According to CNA, the government has yet to come out with a statement on how it intends to deal with Najib’s latest court challenge.
Attorney-General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh did not respond to a request for comment from CNA.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said it will not be making any statement on this matter, while Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he knew nothing about a supplementary order.
However, the senior government officials did acknowledge that Sultan Abdullah had issued a supplementary order with regard to the house arrest before he completed his five-year reign in end-January.
Najib’s latest legal challenge is set to be heard on April 17 by the High Court, which will decide whether to allow his bid for a judicial review.
“It is a matter that needs to be litigated,” said lawyer Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who had also previously served as a member of Najib's defence team. “I belong to the old school; the pardon is the king’s alone to confer.”
Najib, who was the prime minister for nine years until May 2018 and the first one be imprisoned, began serving his jail term in August 2022 after failing in two appeals to overturn his conviction by a High Court two years earlier.
The clemency he secured in late January did not go down well with Malaysians.
Questions were raised as to why Najib, who had served less than two years of his sentence, had become eligible for a royal pardon – at a time when he remains on trial for other corruption charges related to the 1MDB debacle.
According to CNA, this week’s bombshell that Najib could be allowed to serve his jail sentence under house arrest could raise serious questions over the country’s pardon system and stir criticism that two sets of laws exist for convicted persons in Malaysia.
The government had recently agreed in principle to a new initiative called Licensed Prisoner Release, aimed at reducing congestion in prisons and promoting community correction.
It would let prisoners with jail terms of four years or less serve home detention, Saifuddin said last month. The initiative could also include prisoners who have chronic illnesses or disabilities, as well as those who are elderly or pregnant.
Najib’s latest legal challenge has pushed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's administration into a corner, CNA reported.
A government challenge to Najib’s bid would be viewed as tantamount to challenging the unfettered role of the country’s constitutional monarchy.
What’s more, it could also upset the delicate relations with Umno, which is a crucial component in Anwar’s coalition government.
Najib continues to wield significant influence over the party that he headed while he was the prime minister for nine years. Government opposition to the house arrest gambit could set the stage for a revolt among certain factions in Umno against the Anwar administration.
“At this point, Anwar’s position is that he is against the house arrest for Najib,” said one government official, noting that the international reputation of the government and the country’s justice system would immediately be undermined. – The Vibes, April 5, 2024
