No intention to criticise PM over Najib's house arrest bid, says Umno Youth chief

MELAKA: Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh says he has no intention of criticising Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the issue of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s attempt to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

The Umno Youth chief said he was just conveying the doubts and questions of the grassroots relating to the issue on the social media.

"Firstly, I never criticised Datuk Seri Anwar, I was just representing the voices of the grassroots who wanted to know the developments on the issue,

"I was just asking 'basic' questions and I am the voice of the grassroots who were curious about the fate of Datuk Seri Najib Razak," he said after hosting a Hari Raya gathering in Merlimau on Saturday (April 20) night.

The gathering was attended by Melaka Yang di-Pertua Tun Dr Mohd Ali Rustam and about 37,000 locals.

Dr Muhamad Akmal said any differences on the issue can be settled among the component parties in the unity government.

He was earlier asked to respond to a post on his social media accounts allegedly critical of the Prime Minister, where he accused Anwar of giving lame excuses on the issue of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's house arrest bid.

Najib is seeking to commence judicial review proceedings in a bid to compel the government to produce the “supplementary order”, which was purportedly issued by former Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, during the Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting on Jan 29.

On Feb 2, the Pardons Board announced that it had decided to commute Najib’s prison sentence in his SRC International case from 12 years to six years and reduced his fine from RM210mil to RM50mil.

Najib is currently serving his sentence at Kajang Prison.

On April 1, the former prime minister commenced legal proceedings to compel the government to produce the purported “supplementary order”, claiming that the latter was acting in contempt for not executing it.