MELAKA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed claims that his administration had acted against the wishes of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, over the issue of implementing house arrest for Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The Prime Minister said his administration had always upheld the constitutional monarchy system and adhered to established legal processes.
Anwar said the decision to place Najib under house arrest did not fall within his authority as Prime Minister, while the Attorney General’s decision to bring the matter to court aligned with his responsibility to uphold the rule of law.
“They accused me of being disloyal to the King. I am the Prime Minister, and the King called me this afternoon. We have a good relationship.
“To allow him (Najib) to serve his sentence under house arrest is not within my authority. My authority is governed by the law,” he said at the “Ngopi Santai” programme last night.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday ordered the former prime minister to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest at his residence in Langgak Duta, with immediate effect.
On Sept 18, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, which serves as the Pardons Board secretariat, announced that His Majesty had consented to granting Naib a conditional pardon.
The decision allowed him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50mil fine.
The fine was paid on Nov 6, but on the same day, the Attorney General’s Chambers announced that implementation of the house arrest arrangement had been temporarily deferred.
Meanwhile, Anwar said sound governance, free from leakages and corruption, had enabled the government to channel assistance directly to the people.
He said this included an allocation of RM16bil for Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah programmes, RM18bil for public service salary adjustment, as well as RM200 in schooling assistance next year.
