PUTRAJAYA: There were no directives received by the Home Ministry to allow former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence at home, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
According to Saifuddin Nasution, the Home Ministry only received the meeting minutes of the Federal Territories Pardons Board dated Jan 29 last year and the official order by the Pardons Board dated Feb 2 last year on halving Najib’s prison sentence and fine.
Saifuddin Nasution said the two letters, which were received by the Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division, only mentioned the meeting minutes of the Pardons Board and its decision to halve Najib’s sentence to six years in jail and RM50mil fine.
“The letter did not mention anything about house arrest.
“Therefore, the Prisons Department (under the Home Ministry) only implemented what was mentioned in the order.
“It is important to stress that the Home Ministry and the Prisons Department did not hide any decision by the Pardons Board,” Saifuddin Nasution said during a special press conference at his ministry three hours after the Court of Appeal decided on the matter yesterday.
He also said it was untrue that the Home Ministry had refused to carry out the house arrest order for Najib.
“We can only implement orders when it is stated in black-and-white, more so if this order is signed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who chairs the Pardons Board himself.”
Meanwhile, he stressed that the Pardons Board meeting minutes could not be revealed as it is considered an official secret.
“When the Attorney General’s Chambers argued in the courts that the minutes of meeting of the Pardons Board did not mention any addendum, therefore it is in line with what we received.”
He also said the official Pardons Board order was signed by the former King, witnessed by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Asked if the Pahang Palace had communicated with the Home Ministry on the matter, Saifuddin Nasution merely said: “No”.
Yesterday, Najib succeeded in obtaining leave from the Court of Appeal in a split 2-1 decision in his appeal relating to his claims of a royal addendum order that would allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
In the majority decision, the appellate court overturned the High Court’s dismissal of Najib’s application for leave to initiate judicial review over the prison time imposed on him in the SRC International Sdn Bhd trial.
Najib, 71, began serving a 12-year jail term in August 2022 for offences linked to the misuse of public money from former 1Malaysia Development Bhd unit, SRC International. The sentence was later halved by the Pardons Board.
Various parties have raised questions regarding the royal addendum to allow Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest following an affidavit by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi filed on April 9 last year.
After Ahmad Zahid claimed that he was shown the royal addendum, it sparked heated debate over the issue, where it was even raised in Parliament by PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
The debates escalated into a planned gathering by Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional yesterday at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.
However, Barisan parties decided not to proceed with the rally after the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, issued a statement urging the public not to join any gatherings on the matter.
Razarudin had echoed a statement by Istana Negara, which stated that applications for a pardon or reduced sentences must be submitted by the prisoner for the consideration of the Pardons Board, which is chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The King has the prerogative to grant pardons, reprieves and respites for offences committed in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
