The cabinet meeting today did not discuss whether there is a need for the Pardons Board to make public its grounds for reducing former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's jail term, said government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi, who is the communications minister, told reporters that the content of the board's discussions is confidential and there was no precedent where the board needed to announce its deliberations.
"As far as I know, the cabinet did not discuss whether there is a need for the Pardons Board to make such an announcement.
"And the board usually does not give comments or statements. As far as I remember, this was never done before," he said during a press conference in Putrajaya.
Fahmi said this to the question of the government’s position regarding calls for the Pardons Board to reveal the justifications behind its decision to reduce the punishment against Najib in the SRC International corruption case.
The board had halved Najib's 12-year prison term and reduced his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
When asked for his personal view as a minister, Fahmi cited the opinion of constitutional expert Shad Saleem Faruqi who recently wrote an opinion on the matter.
"In this matter, I (agree with) the opinion of Shad, who two days ago wrote his opinion in The Star newspaper.
"In the article, he said the deliberations in the Pardons Board are secret. I can accept that view," Fahmi said. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.