PUTRAJAYA: Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has acknowledged that the Cabinet was “informed” about former prime minister Najib Razak’s application for a royal pardon.
However, he declined to give details of the information that was brought to the government’s attention.
“Anyway, it is not a matter within the Cabinet’s authority. It falls under the Pardons Board. That is quite clear.
“We discussed the matter briefly but since it falls within the jurisdiction of the Pardons Board, it is the board that must answer,” he said at a press conference.
Rumours of Najib being granted a pardon have been swirling following reports that the Federal Territories Pardons Board met at Istana Negara on Monday.
Yesterday, federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa, who sits on the board, confirmed that the meeting took place, but did not disclose if Najib’s application was discussed. She said a statement from the board was forthcoming.
Yesterday, Utusan Malaysia quoted sources as saying that Najib had been granted a royal pardon. Several other news outlets rewrote the story.
However, Utusan Malaysia later retracted its report on grounds that it could not verify the facts and issued an apology.
Najib began his 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022, following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal in the SRC International case.
His lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, previously said a pardon application was first submitted in September 2022, and that addendums to the petition were filed in October that year and in April 2023. - FMT
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