Nooryana disappointed as Najib's house arrest transfer is deferred

 

Najib's daughter says the family had prepared to welcome him home after the RM50 million fine was paid and a High Court order was received, but the AGC's position dashed their hopes. NSTP/FILE PIC

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's daughter, Nooryana Najwa, has expressed disappointment over the Attorney-General's Chambers' (AGC) call to temporarily defer her father's transfer to house arrest.

However, Nooryana said she would leave legal matters to Najib's lawyers and declined to comment further on the legal issues.

She said the family had expected today to be a happy occasion and had prepared to welcome her father home.

However, she said it was not to be for the family tonight.

"Since this morning, my family and I have been in constant contact with various parties to ensure everything went smoothly so that my father could return home today.

"As reported by the media, the RM50 million fine was paid to the court by Umno at about noon today.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the Datuk Seri Najib Solidarity Fund.

"Whether the contributions were large or small, each one means a great deal to my family.

"It clearly shows how many people love and support Datuk Seri Najib," she said in a social media post tonight.

Nooryana said she had waited outside the court this morning and that, after the payment was made, the family received a court order for Najib's release into house arrest.

"The order was then taken to Kajang Prison and, as we understood from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim's conditional pardon order, payment of the RM50 million fine was the main condition for (Datuk Seri) Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

"The RM50 million payment had been made. We were then informed that the prison authorities would bring my father home after receiving the court order.

"Initially, we were told it would be at 5pm, then the time changed to 8.30pm. So we waited.

"But at about 2pm, we received information that the Home Ministry was trying to defer my father's release.

"Nevertheless, our family remained confident because we understood that, procedurally, the court order that had been issued should have been sufficient.

"But eventually, the Attorney-General's Chambers issued a statement calling for the process to be deferred," she said.

Nooryana questioned why any additional conditions had not been communicated earlier and why the RM50 million payment had been accepted if obstacles remained.

"What happened reminds us of our previous experience with the addendum order. There were repeated changes and uncertainty, with one deferment after another.

"Every time we thought my father was getting closer to coming home, another obstacle emerged. Until when?

"We are only asking for justice and transparency. We want Sultan Ibrahim's decree to be respected and the rule of law upheld.

"To daddy. I know you are not watching this tonight. But I hope you know that we are doing everything we can to bring you home.

"We know you miss this family and we miss you too," she said.

Earlier, Umno confirmed that it had completed the payment process at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning, fulfilling a condition for Najib to serve his sentence under house arrest.

The A-GC subsequently said implementation of the house arrest arrangement should be temporarily deferred to obtain further clarification on the interpretation of the conditional pardon granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, Najib's legal team, Messrs Shafee and Co, confirmed that he had yet to be released from Kajang Prison to serve his sentence under house arrest. - NST

BSN customers may face difficulties withdrawing cash at other banks' ATMs

 

The bank attributes the disruption to high ATM transaction volumes and advises customers to use BSN ATMs temporarily. NSTP/FILE PIC

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) customers may experience difficulties withdrawing cash from automated teller machines (ATMs) operated by other banks through the Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS).

BSN said the disruption was due to high ATM transaction volumes.

It advised customers to use their BSN ATM cards at BSN machines temporarily.

"For further information or assistance, please contact the BSN Customer Contact Centre at 03-2613 1900 or email customercare@bsn.com.my.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience," it said. - NST

Why raise house arrest questions only now, Umno asks AGC

 Party information chief Azalina Othman Said says it is fair that the attorney-general explain why the concerns were only raised after the fine was paid.

Umno information chief Azalina Othman Said said the party took the AGC’s concerns seriously, especially since Najib Razak’s residence had already been gazetted as a prison. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Umno has called on the attorney-general to say when his chambers identified the concerns it raised when it suggested the deferral of Najib Razak’s house arrest, given his role in the Federal Territories Pardons Board.

The party’s information chief Azalina Othman Said, who is also law and institutional reform minister, also said it was fair that the attorney-general explain why the Attorney-General’s Chambers raised its concerns only after the RM50 million fine had been paid and a court order had been issued.

“Umno respects the attorney-general’s position as the government’s primary legal adviser. The party urges the AGC to immediately explain the legal basis for delaying the implementation of house arrest,” she said in a statement today.

Azalina highlighted a statement issued by Najib’s lawyers and said Umno took the AGC’s concerns seriously, especially since Najib’s residence had already been gazetted as a prison.

“Umno upholds the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s power of pardon under the Federal Constitution. The conditional pardon and the High Court’s order must be respected and given effect in accordance with the law,” she said.

Najib’s lawyers had earlier this evening questioned why the attorney-general had not raised the legal questions when he attended the pardons board meeting which advised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the pardon.

The lawyers said the AGC has no power to delay Najib’s house arrest and must take to court any question it has about the house arrest order.

The statement came in response to the AGC’s call earlier today for Najib to remain in prison and for his house arrest to be deferred pending a review of the conditional pardon and the Order of Discharge granted by the High Court after payment of a RM50 million fine.

Najib’s lawyers said it was not “open to the AGC to refuse to carry out the express terms of a royal pardon while it considered its position”.  FMT

Elak politik melabel, PAS disaran utamakan hujah

 PAS mempunyai pengaruh yang kuat namun rakyat akan lebih menghormatinya sekiranya ia mengelakkan pendekatan melabel pihak lawan.

PAS selaku pembangkang perlu mengkritik kerajaan namun pendekatan melabel pihak lawan mengundang kritikan pelbagai pihak.

PETALING JAYA:

PAS disaran menggunakan pendekatan hujah berfakta bagi menjaga imej parti dan keharmonian masyarakat, berbanding melabel pihak lawan dengan istilah-istilah agama.

Syaza Shukri dari Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia berkata melabel pihak lawan merupakan ‘politik murahan’, terutama apabila istilah agama digunakan untuk menyerang mereka.

Syaza Shukri.

“Rakyat bijak. Kita tahu label-melabel ini ‘cheap politics’ untuk menakutkan rakyat dan kononnya membabitkan agama dalam isu politik, tetapi hakikatnya hanya perbezaan pendapat atau haluan,” katanya kepada FMT.

Mazlan Ali dari Universiti Teknologi Malaysia berkata perbezaan pandangan politik tidak seharusnya menjejaskan hubungan sesama masyarakat dan silaturahim dalam kalangan umat Islam.

Katanya, PAS mempunyai pengaruh yang kuat namun rakyat akan lebih menghormatinya sekiranya ia mengelakkan pendekatan melabel pihak lawan.

Mazlan Ali.

“PAS perlu mengkritik kerajaan, kerana tidak ada kerajaan yang sempurna. Sebagai pembangkang, tugas PAS adalah menyemak imbang. Rakyat akan lebih menghormati PAS jika sesuatu kritikan itu berasaskan politik hujah,” katanya.

CSA ditandatangani Presiden Bersatu Muhyiddin Yassin dan lima Ahli Parlimen Bersatu lain, serta Ahli Parlimen Muar Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

CSA memberikan tujuh wakil rakyat itu akses peruntukan pembangunan kawasan Parlimen, yang telah diterima oleh Ahli Parlimen kerajaan sepanjang empat tahun lalu. Ia turut merangka dua reformasi utama yang mesti dilaksanakan Putrajaya sebagai balasan kepada sokongan mereka — meletakkan had tempoh jawatan perdana menteri dan memisahkan peranan peguam negara dan pendakwa raya sebelum tamat penggal Parlimen.

Kelmarin, media melaporkan Hadi mengumpamakan CSA ditandatangani antara kerajaan dan tujuh Ahli Parlimen pembangkang seperti penipuan dajal – ‘pembohong paling besar’, yang kemunculannya dianggap dalam Islam sebagai antara tanda besar semakin hampirnya Hari Kiamat.

Dalam kenyataan, beliau mendakwa CSA adalah pendekatan dajal pada akhir zaman yang menjadikan kuasa bukan lagi suatu amanah yang wajib ditunaikan kepada semua, tetapi memaksa untuk terus berkuasa.

Beliau berkata, mana-mana parti yang menjadi kerajaan wajib menunaikan amanah kepada rakyat secara langsung tanpa perlu membuat aku janji terlebih dahulu.

Kenyataan Hadi mengundang kritikan pelbagai pihak, antaranya Ketua Pemuda PKR Kamil Munim yang mengingatkan bahawa perjanjian sama pernah ditandatangani sewaktu PAS berada dalam kerajaan, dengan PH pada 13 Sept 2021.

Bekas ahli majlis kerja tertinggi Umno, Puad Zarkashi, pula mempersoalkan sama ada Umno turut dianggap ‘dajal kecil’, mengingatkan bahawa Umno antara parti yang membentuk kerajaan perpaduan.

Di Dewan Rakyat, Ahli Parlimen Bersatu Suhaimi Abdullah berkata label ‘dajal’ menimbulkan persoalan mengenai kesungguhan memperjuangkan perpaduan nasional.

Katanya, usaha mencapai persefahaman demi kepentingan rakyat sukar direalisasikan jika Ahli Parlimen yang mengambil pendekatan bekerjasama turut dilabel ‘dajal’.

Sementara itu, Ahli Parlimen PAS Ahmad Fadhli Shaari mempertahankan kenyataan Hadi berhubung penggunaan istilah ‘dajal’, yang dikatakan bukan merujuk kepada individu menandatangani CSA.

Katanya, istilah itu merujuk pendekatan dalam CSA yang didakwa meletakkan syarat wakil rakyat perlu memberi sokongan sebelum sesuatu peruntukan disalurkan kepada Ahli Parlimen. - FMT

When in Malaysia: The HYROX sponsorship row is a lesson in local due diligence

 

INTERNATIONAL sporting events bring commercial opportunities and global exposure, but can also spark debate about business interests and local values.

The controversy surrounding the proposed beer sponsorship for HYROX Kuala Lumpur is a case in point.

What began as a discussion about sponsorship suitability and regulatory requirements became a wider debate about cultural sensitivities and whether Malaysia is being unnecessarily restrictive.

The episode exposed a familiar problem: a regional commercial partnership and its promotional material were not adequately adapted to the Malaysian market.

HYROX Malaysia apologised for the oversight and confirmed that the Carlsberg partnership would not extend to the local event. Carlsberg Malaysia clarified that it had no commercial involvement in the Kuala Lumpur race.

When a commercial arrangement encounters an established boundary, the conversation can shift from whether the arrangement is appropriate to whether the boundary itself is reasonable.

A legitimate question, although one might expect it to have been asked before the promotional material was released.

Malaysia, a conservative society?

Buy Maps

Before casually labelling Malaysia a conservative society, perhaps we should ask: conservative by whose standards?

Every country has its own history, values, social expectations and legal framework. What is acceptable in one jurisdiction may be inappropriate or prohibited in another. That does not make one society superior and another backward. It makes them different.

We celebrate cultural diversity abroad, admiring traditions and respecting local customs. Yet when Malaysia expects similar consideration, some suddenly discover an urge to lecture the country about modernity.

How wonderfully selective.

Laws and regulations are not optional recommendations. The Youth and Sports Ministry cited Article 5.2 of the Safe Sport Code, which restricts alcohol-related sponsorship and promotion at sporting events approved or supported by the ministry and its agencies.

It said the HYROX event would not be approved unless the alcohol branding was withdrawn.

Event organisers must conduct proper due diligence before committing to sponsorship arrangements or releasing promotional material. This means understanding local regulations, approval conditions and community sensitivities.

This is not an extraordinary demand. It is Event Management 101.

A commercially attractive partnership may look impressive, but if it creates foreseeable regulatory difficulties, someone should have asked more questions beforehand.

After all, crisis management is considerably cheaper when the crisis never happens.

Fitness, endurance and… beer?

There is also a question of brand alignment. HYROX celebrates physical fitness, discipline, endurance and healthy competition. So where exactly does beer fit into that narrative?

Alcohol brands certainly sponsor sporting events internationally. But international precedent does not automatically establish local appropriateness, nor does such sponsorship make it essential to the success of a fitness competition here.

Surely an event built around pushing physical limits can find commercial partners whose products more naturally complement its purpose. Hydration, nutrition and sporting performance offer a promising starting point.

But perhaps that is an excessively sober suggestion.

Similar sponsorship arrangements may be permitted elsewhere. But Singapore is not Malaysia. Australia is not Malaysia. Europe is not Malaysia.

And Malaysia is not obliged to become any of them.

When Malaysian businesses operate overseas, they must comply with local requirements. We do not expect foreign governments to rewrite their regulations because our preferred business model works better elsewhere.

International expansion requires local adaptation. Respecting a country’s boundaries does not mean endorsing every aspect of its policies. It means recognising that commercial ambition operates within a legal and social environment, not above it.

The real lesson

The sensible response to the HYROX controversy is neither moral grandstanding nor defensive outrage.

It is to clarify the requirements, resolve incompatible sponsorship arrangements and engage the authorities without turning an operational issue into an unnecessary cultural confrontation.

The public should not be made to feel that their values are an obstacle to commercial success. Equally, legitimate commercial considerations deserve a fair hearing within the established framework.

Good communication requires cultural intelligence, sound judgement and the ability to anticipate consequences.

Progress is not measured by how many boundaries we discard, just as tradition should not be used to resist every new idea.

A mature society can embrace international sporting events while maintaining its own principles. A competent organiser should understand both.

The lesson is simple: when entering a market, study its rules before selling your vision.

Because the mark of a truly world-class event organiser is not merely knowing how to stage an international event. It is knowing which country you are staging it in. 

Prof Mohd Said Bani C.M. Din is the founder and managing director of bzBee Consult.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT

- Focus Malaysia