Home minister says conflicting interpretations of the court's discharge order and the pardons board's decision must be clarified first.
He said the ministry was caught between the conditional pardon granted to Najib, which allows him to serve the remainder of his SRC International prison sentence under house arrest upon payment of his RM50 million fine, and a court order that used the term “discharge”.
“The Order of Discharge states ‘release’, whereas the Federal Territories Pardons Board says house arrest.
“House arrest is different from release… If there is any ambiguity, we refer it to the court,” he told reporters after meeting fishermen at Pengkalan Kling here.
Saifuddin said an outright discharge would mean the prisons department no longer has authority over Najib, whereas house arrest would require the department to retain custody over him.
He said the ministry had received the letter from the pardons board secretariat and respected its decision.
“There is no problem. We have not disputed a single sentence or comma,” he said, adding that the ministry has sought the attorney-general’s advice because of the differing legal interpretations.
He said the courts were the appropriate place to resolve the matter, adding that the ministry would respect the outcome.
Asked when the AG would refer the matter to the court, Saifuddin said he had no information on when proceedings would be initiated or which party would bring the matter before the court.
On Nov 6, Umno said it had settled the RM50 million fine for Najib, allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.
However, the Attorney-General’s Chambers called for this to be deferred pending clarification of conflicting terms in the court order. - FMT
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