KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak can still attend the Dewan Rakyat sitting, says Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, while adding that it was not in his power to determine the attendance of the incarcerated lawmaker.
“In relation to the attendance of Pekan, it is not under my power at all. I do not have the power to (determine whether) he is allowed to attend or not,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat Monday (Oct 3).
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Azhar said Najib, who is currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted in the RM42mil SRC International case, will not need his permission to enter the House.
“The question is whether he can attend, it is not in my power (to determine) that because he is not under my custody,” he said.
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"Who has his custody? The prison has his custody, so it is up to the Prisons Department to let him out of their custody,” he added.
He also said it was the Prisons Department's discretion to impose conditions, if it decided to allow Najib to attend the Parliament sitting.
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“Again, that is not under my power,” he said in response to Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (PH-Sepang), who had asked if Najib could attend the Dewan Rakyat meeting as he was still an MP.
“If he is still an MP, I propose that he should be allowed to come to Parliament but on condition that he must be handcuffed, but he could dress the same way as us," said Hanipa.
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“We and the whole world want to see how a handcuffed MP comes to Parliament,” he added.
On Najib’s disqualification as an MP, Azhar said he can only lose his seat immediately after the petition for pardon has been disposed of.
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The former prime minister is currently serving a 12-year jail term after the Federal Court upheld his conviction on seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42mil of SRC's funds. He was also fined RM210mil.
