KUALA LUMPUR – The Prisons Department has rejected former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid to attend the current Dewan Rakyat sitting on security grounds, said his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Shafee said despite the rejection, the legal team has since filed an appeal on their application to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
He further stated that they will file a judicial review on the Prisons Department’s decision if they do not receive a response from Hamzah and his ministry by noon tomorrow, or in the event that their appeal is rejected.
“The reason that the Prisons Department gave of security issues is unreasonable, as he would be far safer in Parliament than in the courthouse as he is exposed to the public,” he said to the press during a conference at the Kuala Lumpur court complex today.
Najib’s legal team had filed an application to the Prisons Department on September 19 to attend Parliament and received a reply in the negative within a week.
Shafee went on to explain that the Prisons Department and security officers at Parliament could coordinate security efforts.
“Under normal circumstances, we would give the ministry a longer time to respond but Parliament is already sitting and time is already short.
“As you know, now the circumstances of Parliament may not last that long. We don’t know.
“There are many rumours and in Malaysia, rumours are usually true, so you will see that time is a bit hard-pressed for us.
“We need him to attend because it is critical,” said Shafee.
This follows rumours that Parliament is likely to be dissolved after the federal budget is scheduled to be tabled this coming Friday.
He then stressed that Najib is still an elected lawmaker, pending the disposal of the review on the federal court decision to uphold his SRC International Bhd conviction and his application for a royal pardon.
“As an MP, Najib must be allowed to carry out his duties in Parliament and his political aides should also be allowed to visit him in prison to take instructions on how to manage his constituency,” said Shafee.
Similarly, Shafee also stated that Najib should be allowed by the Prisons Department, from time to time, to visit his constituency and conduct his duty as a lawmaker.
“His political aide from his constituency should be able to visit him to take instructions on what to do in his constituency so that the people of his constituency can be served because otherwise, the people do not have an MP that can function for their benefit.
“So we wrote (to the Prisons Department) and that this may be a little bit more difficult to manage, but it is not impossible for him to be escorted to his constituency once in a while, as long as he is an MP, in order to hear the grouses of his people and then delegate the work to his aides and render assistance, and then he comes back to the prison.
“I’m not saying you (the Prisons Department) must give him privileges similar to free MPs, but his duty as an MP mainly is to attend Parliament and contribute to discussions, which we think is the most important function,” added Shafee.
He said the judicial review they plan to file against the Prisons Department would be the first of its kind as they plan to set a precedent.
“I think it is an important issue because it would set a precedent for every MP who gets into trouble. Hopefully, there are not many of them, but every MP gets into trouble as long as they’re still an MP. As long as the decision has not been made, whether they’re guilty or not, they should never be stopped from carrying out their function,'” he said. – The Vibes, October 3, 2022
