PUTRAJAYA: The minutes of the Pardons Board meeting related to Datuk Seri Najib Razak are confidential and can only be declassified by the Pardons Board, says Dr Zaliha Mustafa (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) said only the Pardons Board has the authority to disclose the minutes.
“Minutes of meetings are confidential matters. Therefore, we (the government) cannot disclose them publicly.
“This authority lies solely with the Pardons Board,” Dr Zaliha told the media when met at the Madani Touch Kiosk opening ceremony here on Thursday (Jan 9).
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Her remarks came amid calls from PKR leader Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin for the government to declassify the meeting minutes to address allegations and speculation surrounding Najib’s case.
Shamsul Iskandar who is also the Prime Minister’s political secretary, argued that declassifying the minutes would ensure transparency, clarify the timeline of decisions and dispel accusations that a former King’s decree to place Najib under house arrest had been ignored.
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Shamsul Iskandar said such a move would enable the public to understand the deliberations during the Pardons Board meeting, including views expressed by members and the decision timeline under the tenure of then King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
He also said that declassification would prevent the issue from being exploited for political gain.
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The controversy follows a recent Court of Appeal decision that allowed Najib to pursue a legal challenge regarding his claim that Al-Sultan Abdullah had issued an addendum permitting him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.
The appellate court, in a two-to-one majority ruling, ordered the case to be remitted to the High Court for further hearing of Najib’s arguments.
