PETALING JAYA: Umno’s request for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to consider pardoning its former president Najib Razak will not cause a rift in the unity government as it is the sole prerogative of the King to grant a pardon, a PKR MP said.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said the Agong could make a decision upon consultation with the Pardons Board and did not require the advice of the prime minister or the Cabinet.
He said it was “irrelevant” to ask if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faced a dilemma over the matter as the Federal Constitution clearly stated that it was the sole prerogative of the Agong to grant pardons.
“Anwar and the government he leads are safe from Umno’s request for the Agong to grant a pardon (to Najib) if they adhere to the doctrine of separation of powers and do not interfere in the Agong’s right to grant pardons in accordance with Article 42 of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement.
“As prime minister, Anwar cannot be blamed if the pardon process is slow and he cannot be blamed if the pardon is granted or rejected.”
Yesterday, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin said the party’s request for the Agong to consider pardoning Najib would not harm its alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and other components in the unity government.
He said the party merely wanted to show its appreciation and gratitude towards the former prime minister for the nine years in power before Barisan Nasional’s fall in the 2018 general election.
Khaled said the relationship with PH in the unity government was not the issue as it was up to the Agong to make a decision. Umno and PKR are partners in the unity government.
He also reiterated the statement by the party’s secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki that the Supreme Council would appeal for a royal pardon from the King for Najib as the party believed he had been denied justice.
Najib began serving his 12-year prison sentence on Aug 23, 2022 after he was found guilty of criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering in relation to SRC’s RM42 million.
Earlier this week, Najib said he would seek to use the dissenting judgment by Federal Court judge Abdul Rahman Sebli to support his application for a royal pardon.
On March 31, Rahman released a 78-page minority judgment, which stated that Najib had no legal representation when a Federal Court panel heard and dismissed his appeal in the SRC International corruption case.
Rahman, who is the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, was a member of a five-panel Federal Court bench which heard Najib’s application for a review of the court’s decision to dismiss his appeal in the SRC case. The other four judges found no grounds to free Najib. - FMT
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