Fahmi says cabinet discussions ‘secret and confidential’, including Najib’s pardon

SERI KEMBANGAN – Details of cabinet discussions cannot be divulged to the public, said Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil. 

Fahmi said this when asked if the cabinet has discussed issues related to the Pardons Board tasked with reviewing incarcerated former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s application. 

Declining to comment in length on Najib’s pardon process, Fahmi instead said: “Issues raised or not during cabinet meetings are considered secret and confidential information.”

“(If asked to comment on the matters discussed), I can neither confirm nor deny,” he said briefly when met by reporters at an event here today.

Fahmi, who is also Lembah Pantai MP, said he is in the dark about when the Pardons Board will be convening to discuss Najib’s pardon bid.

“As of now, I have not been informed of a date when the board will be meeting. Until I have that information, I cannot comment on this matter,” he said when asked whether a date has been set by the board to review Najib’s application. 

Previously, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had maintained that his involvement in former Umno president Najib’s pardon process did not involve any conflict of interest.

He said this was because the hearing for pardon applications will have to abide by due process, while the final decision would be made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. 

Under Article 42(5) of the federal constitution, a Pardons Board for each state, as well as the federal territories, shall consist of the attorney-general, the chief minister or minister in charge of the federal territories, and not more than three other members appointed by the ruler.

Anwar’s administration, however, does not have a specific federal territories ministry, with its responsibilities now placed under the Prime Minister’s Department, meaning the Pakatan Harapan chairman is the de facto minister. 

Barisan Nasional linchpin the Umno Supreme Council had earlier stated its intent to submit an appeal to the Agong urging for Najib to be granted a full pardon.

This followed the apex court’s non-unanimous decision to reject Najib’s review application to overturn the Federal Court ruling last year, which upheld the former Umno president’s guilty verdict and 12-year jail sentence in his SRC International Sdn Bhd case. – The Vibes, April 14, 2023