Najib can attend Parliament if Prison Dept allows him to - speaker

 

PARLIAMENT | Imprisoned lawmaker Najib Abdul Razak is still allowed to attend Parliament sittings, said Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.

However, it is up to the Prison Department to give Najib (BN-Pekan) permission to participate in the Dewan Rakyat session, he added.

Azhar (above) was responding to Hanipa Maidin (Pakatan Harapan-Sepang) who asked if the convicted former prime minister can be brought to the Dewan Rakyat in handcuffs for "everyone to see".

Najib is serving 12 years in jail after the Federal Court upheld his conviction in the SRC International case.

His only time out of prison is to attend other criminal court cases and for medical treatment.

Azhar said the general principle is that all MPs are allowed to enter the Dewan Rakyat and that he had no power to bar them.

"But the question now is whether he can attend. That is not under my authority, because he is not in my custody.

"He is in the Prison Department's custody, so it is up to them to release him from their custody," he added.

If the department does allow him out of prison to attend Parliament, Azhar said the department would set the conditions and rules for such an outing.

Former premier Najib Abdul Razak

Najib’s MP status

Khalid Abdul Samad (Harapan-Shah Alam) then asked why Najib did not have his MP status voided upon conviction.

Azhar replied: "The law as it is, not as it should be, nor as it ought to be".

Article 48 of the Federal Constitution stipulates that a person can be disqualified as an MP if they are convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than a year in jail, and fined more than RM2,000.

However, if a petition for a pardon is filed within 14 days of conviction and sentence, or after the disposal of any appeal or court proceeding in regard to the conviction and sentence, the disqualification takes effect only upon the petition being disposed of, under Article 48(4)(c).

Najib had filed for a royal pardon within 14 days of his conviction.

Khalid remarked a motion should be filed to amend the law "as it should be" to which Azhar said the lawmaker was free to do so. - Mkini