[UPDATED] Najib doesn’t need my permission to attend Dewan: Art Harun

KUALA LUMPUR – Imprisoned Datuk Seri Najib Razak (Pekan-BN) can attend the Dewan Rakyat as he wishes and only needs the approval of the Prison Department, according to speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun.

He said this is considering Parliament has no control over the attendance of MPs, while reiterating that the former prime minister is in prison.

“Pekan’s (Najib) attendance is not at all under my jurisdiction. I have no power to allow or disallow him to attend. If he comes, he does not need my permission to enter the House.

“He is not in my custody, but in prison. As such, it is up to the Prison Department to grant him that access.

“Additionally, to my understanding, if the prison releases him, then they are also responsible for setting the conditions for his release. 

“Once more, it’s not in my power (to decide),” Azhar said today.

Azhar was responding to a question from Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (Sepang-PH) on whether the speaker will consider allowing Najib into the lower House during Parliament proceedings, following his incarceration in August. 

“I suggest we allow him to attend, but on the condition he should be handcuffed. He can wear the same attire as the other MPs, but he must be cuffed. 

“The whole world wants to see how an MP who is handcuffed attends Parliament,” he said, drawing laughter from Azhar and other lawmakers.

Najib was ordered to begin serving his 12-year prison sentence beginning August 23 after the Federal Court upheld the lower court’s decision to find the former prime minister guilty of all seven charges in his SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case. 

Last week, media reports quoted Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah as saying that it is technically possible for his client to attend the parliamentary meeting, and that there was “some movement” on this front. 

According to Azhar, in general, it is within the rights of all MPs to enter the Dewan Rakyat, and that this does not require the permission of the speaker. 

Later, Khalid Abdul Samad (Shah Alam-PH) expressed his dissatisfaction at how Najib is able to continue to serve as Pekan MP despite being sentenced to prison. 

“He has been found guilty, and all his appeals have been rejected. By right, he should lose his membership of the House. If he is granted a pardon in the future, then we can reinstate him as MP. 

“I don’t think the Dewan should accept a convict, who has robbed the country, in the House. I hope the speaker can make a stern ruling on this,” he said.

Azhar, however, cited Article 48(4)(c) of the federal constitution in noting that in the event of a petition filed by a convicted MP for a pardon, any disqualification shall only take effect upon the disposal of that petition. 

“That is the provision under the constitution. We can argue all we want and create our own narrative, but I am bound by this. 

“The law is not always as it should be or ought to be. We can go on fighting until all the cows come home, but the most important thing is how the law is.” – The Vibes, October 3, 2022