In their latest Keluar Sekejap podcast episode, Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan explored how the government is attempting to win over two opposing camps on the Pardons Board’s decision regarding former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
However, the former Umno leaders concluded that the government had not been successful.
The pair noted how the decision has become a divisive issue and highlighted the contradicting views and sentiments.
To be fair, former health minister Khairy said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim attempted to “take ownership of the issue” when the latter mentioned the decision had nothing to do with him or his government.
“He (Anwar) said the pardon had undergone the process enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and this cannot be questioned, which is technically correct.
“Secondly, he said, the (decision) had taken into account Najib’s contributions and service to the nation as a former prime minister…” he added.
Khairy (above) said it must be clarified if a pardon is the sole discretionary power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong since even legal experts cannot agree on this.
“In the Constitution, there are three issues mentioned as the discretionary powers of the Agong which are the appointment of the prime minister, not agreeing to a request to dissolve the Parliament, and to call for a meeting of the Conference of Rulers,” he added.
The former Umno Youth chief noted that Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah and Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah offered different interpretations of the Agong’s powers concerning pardons.
“So in a situation where the people are confused… we don’t know who is right and so there must be some clarification,” he added.
Different group, different narrative
However, Shahril said he is not confident that the government leadership would be able to shed light on this issue.
“A clarification can only be forthcoming if PMX (Anwar) and the top leadership of the government are courageous enough and prepared to state that ‘I am involved in this decision’ or ‘I am not involved and this is the decision of the Agong’.
“I see both these narratives existing… As I mentioned earlier, because they want to win over both camps (those supporting and opposing the pardon), they will play up both narratives,” he added.
Shahril said for those opposed to the pardon, the narrative that it was the Agong’s decision and that “because of us (government members of the Pardons Board)”, a full pardon was not granted would be put forth.
Whereas for those supporting the pardon, added the former Umno information chief, it would be described as “we tried our best, it was a collective decision, or the Agong decided.”
Summing it up, Khairy said: “With one group, they will say ‘We are powerless, the Agong decided’. To the other crowd, they will say, ‘If we did not intervene, he (Najib) would have received a full pardon’.”
However, the former Rembau MP said the government is not winning over either crowd, prompting Shahril to add, “When you try to please everyone, in the end, you win neither.”
‘Election is four years away’
Delving into the “strategy” behind the pardon, Khairy explored the issue as something unavoidable because of pressure from Umno and Anwar’s desire to remain as prime minister.
“Do you think they have ‘priced in’ the people’s anger (towards the pardon), as a cost, a price which has to be paid?
“Because the election is four years away, so we do all of this now, this year, resolve the issue of Najib’s pardon, then we focus on the economy and investment over the next few years, everything will become better and the cost has already been paid earlier,” he added.
Shahril, on the other hand, does not believe this issue will be settled soon.
Calling it “indecisiveness”, he expected the issue to prolong since there was no concrete stand, which was either a full pardon or for Najib to serve his entire sentence.
Khairy then pointed out that Shafee has indicated that another request would be put forth to secure a full pardon for his client and Shahril said the government would not make a stand on it.
“When the government is quiet or tries to play both sides, the issue will drag on,” he added with Khairy stating there would be pressure from Umno for Najib to be granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for his other charges.
On Feb 2, the Pardons Board announced that Najib’s 12-year jail term had been halved and his fine reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million. - Mkini
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