DATUK SERI Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that the decision of the Pardons Board on any punishment meted by the courts is beyond the ambit of the prime minister and the government of Malaysia.
The country’s current premier said that the decision reached by the Yang diPertuan Agong, who chairs the board, on Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s jail term and fine should be respected as it was undertaken with due process.
He also noted that Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, still has another case that is presently going through the judicial process.
However one may feel about it, Najib like any other convicted citizen has the right to seek pardon and a process of consultation had been undertaken before the decision was made, he said.
"Whatever one feels… Of course, it’s very political, some support (the decision), some don’t," Anwar said.
“But they cannot ignore the fact that you must respect the right of anyone convicted to appeal to the Pardons Board."
Anwar made this remark when asked for his comments in an interview with Al Jazeera’s Arabic channel following the announcement on the decision by the Pardons Board’s secretary today.
The board had at its meeting in Istana Negara last Monday reduced Najib’s jail term, imposed by the courts based on a graft-related conviction, from twelve years to six and cut his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
The meeting was chaired by the then Yang diPertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Mustafa Billah Shah, whose reign as Malaysia's king ended the next day as he completed his five-year tenure.
His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim of Johor has since ascended the throne to reign for the next five-year period.
“Datuk Seri Najib went through the legal process and he is now in prison," Anwar said.
“But (he has) every right. It’s the right of every citizen, who has been convicted, to appeal to the king,” he stressed, adding that he himself once sat in the Pardons Board as his ministerial portfolio had put him in charge of Kuala Lumpur.
(The seat is now occupied by Dr Zaliha Mustafa as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the Federal Territories.)
Possible to appeal again to new king
Anwar explained that the king as the constitutional monarch consults the attorney-general, the prime minister and others in the process of vetting a pardon application.
Hailing the king as “the bastion to uphold the constitution and the rule of law”, he added that the Agong took into account “all the considerations”.
“Then, the king, after listening to the board, finally decided to reduce the sentence by 50%,” he said.
“Having said that, there is an ongoing case in court through a judicial process, independently. It has to continue,” Anwar added, referring to Najib's other trial.
On the issue of Najib not getting a full pardon, Anwar said that he has the right to appeal again, this time to the new king.
“So I think the process has to be respected,” he said. “It’s beyond the prime minister or the government... And I respect the decision of the then king."
"The Pardons Board has made a decision. If one is satisfied, that’s fair. If not satisfied, he or she still has the avenue to appeal at a later stage.” – The Vibes, February 2, 2024
