AGC’s stand on Najib order doesn’t question king’s pardon, says MP

 Ramkarpal Singh says the AGC is seeking clarification on the High Court order, not the conditional pardon given by the king.

DAP’s legal bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh said an application to revise the High Court Order of Discharge for Najib Razak ought to be made forthwith in light of the urgency of the matter.

PETALING JAYA:

DAP’s legal bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh has defended the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ position on the court order concerning Najib Razak’s house arrest, saying it does not amount to questioning the king’s prerogative in granting pardons.

The Bukit Gelugor MP agreed that the word “discharge” in the High Court order could be construed as a “release” for Najib, rather than transferring him to house arrest.

Ramkarpal said this would therefore contradict the conditional pardon which explicitly states that the former prime minister would serve his remaining SRC International jail term under house arrest if he pays the RM50 million fine.

“As such, clarification of the said Order of Discharge is necessary to avoid any doubts which may arise in the enforcement of the said conditional pardon order.

“The AGC’s position is further compounded by the fact that Najib is required to serve another sentence for his conviction in the 1MDB case immediately after completing his sentence in the SRC case, for which a stay of execution has not been granted to date,” he said in a statement.

While Najib’s residence has been gazetted as a prison, Ramkarpal said it was unclear if the gazette extends beyond the former Umno president’s SRC sentence since the gazette was issued in light of the SRC pardon.

“In other words, it is unlikely that Najib’s residence is meant to be a prison for him to serve any other sentence apart from the SRC sentence, such as his 1MDB sentence.

“Under the circumstances, I am of the opinion that the AGC is right in its view that the matter should be clarified by the High Court and an application for the said purpose or revision of the said Order of Discharge ought to be made forthwith in light of the urgency of the matter.

“It must be emphasised that such clarification or revision would not seek to clarify the terms of the conditional pardon order (which are clear) but instead, seeks to remedy a potential error in the Order of Discharge relating to the administration of justice,” he said.

On Nov 6, Umno said it had settled the RM50 million fine for Najib, allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.

However, the Attorney-General’s Chambers called for this to be deferred pending clarification of conflicting terms in the court order.

Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar said there were obvious errors in the court order which would have been spotted if the document had been properly checked. - FMT