Sultan Ibrahim might give Najib a “full pardon” in the absence of a house arrest provision.
When Teresa Kok disagreed that halal certification be made compulsory for all restaurants and food companies, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim chose to reprimand her, a member of the loyal ally from DAP (Democratic Action Party). Instead, Anwar agreed with UMNO troublemaker Akmal Saleh, who attacked Teresa in an evil plan to inflame racial and religious sentiments.
And when Akmal terrorized Chinese business owners like KK Super Mart over some silly sock issue, Anwar kept quiet and enjoyed the show. Now, mad dog Akmal has turned around and attacked the prime minister over the royal pardon granted to him in 2018, Anwar is learning why karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve.
Today, everyone is watching the feud between PKR and UMNO with popcorn. PKR president Anwar thought UMNO had become his best friend and he could take for granted or belittle the 95% Chinese support garnered by DAP. Drunk with power, the premier thought UMNO would forever play second fiddle and become his lapdog – until Akmal humiliated him now.
UMNO Youth Chief Akmal suddenly bites PM Anwar after the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) issued a statement on December 28, 2024, that any request for prisoners, including former prime minister Najib Razak, to serve their sentences under house arrest must be submitted to the Pardons Board, which is chaired by the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King Sultan Ibrahim).
The AGC said that based on Article 42 (1) of the Federal Constitution, the Agong has the power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites in respect of any offences committed in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. The AGC said Article 42 (2) of the Constitution also provides, among others, that the King is allowed to remit, suspend or commute sentences for any offences passed by the court.
The statement said – “Following this, the Chambers has been commanded by the King to inform that all applications for pardons concerning offences committed within the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya must be submitted to the Pardons Board, chaired by the King, in accordance with the procedures and channels prescribed by law and not through other channels,”
“Therefore, should any party wish to propose that any prisoner, including Najib, serve their sentence under house arrest, such an application must be submitted for consideration by the Pardons Board chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) in accordance with the procedures and channels established under the applicable laws and regulations” – the AGC statement continued.
So, why Akmal and other pro-Najib UMNO bootlickers like Puad Zarkashi were so upset and depressed that they barked like a mad dog infected with rabies? The short answer – Najib’s “jail from home” plan has hit a roadblock. The long answer – Najib has to start all over again with an official application if he still hopes to serve his remaining jail sentence from home.
Disgraced Najib began serving a 12-year jail sentence in August 2022 after having been found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd). The prison sentence was later given a 50% discount (in addition to a whopping 75% discount on RM210 million fine) by the Pardons Board, thanks to the previous King and PM Anwar.
Najib then claimed that there was a royal addendum, allegedly issued by the then-16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong – Sultan Abdullah of Pahang – that would allow him to serve the remainder of his six-year prison sentence under house arrest. However, the dubious royal decree has become controversial when the Anwar government has neither denied nor admitted its existence.
But with the latest royal decree from the newly crowned 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong – Sultan Ibrahim of Johor – that prisoner Najib Razak must submit a new application for consideration by the Pardons Board, it effectively makes the old royal addendum (if it exists in the first place) null and void, in line with our previous article that the addendum actually exists, but illegal and unconstitutional.
If the addendum did not exist from the beginning, Anwar would have laughed and rubbished Najib’s claim rather than beating around the bush. The PM did not need to hide behind two Kings, struggling very hard to justify – without much success with angry people – why a crook like Najib was given a royal pardon, what more the privilege to serve jail sentence in the comfort of home.
There are two parts to the controversy – a royal pardon and a royal addendum. While the “partial” royal pardon has been successfully bulldozed, even though it was arguably done illegally as Najib did not serve at least one-third of his prison sentence before any pardon can be considered, the royal addendum is totally unenforceable as there isn’t any provision for a house arrest in Malaysia.
It became more dramatic when the Pahang Palace said this month (Dec 10) that it “will not be making any statements” on the issue due to the upcoming court case. But why can’t the previous King – Sultan Abdullah – confirm or deny the existence of the royal decree which he personally rushed to sign at the eleventh hour before his tenure as Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) ended on January 30, 2024?
At best, Sultan Abdullah might have been persuaded and scammed by Najib into signing the dubious decree at the last minute before the monarch was replaced by Sultan Ibrahim. At worst, the Pahang Sultan knew it was illegal but signed it anyway as birds of a feather flock together. Now that it has become a hot potato, the Pahang Palace is hiding behind the judiciary to avoid embarrassment.
What is unknown is whether the document has actually been backdated, which explains why it took Najib a few months after a royal pardon to start crowing about a royal addendum. It also explains why the Home Minister said the document was merely hearsay. However, there is also the possibility that PM Anwar had deliberately hidden the document, leading to flip-flopping between him and his own minister.
Heck, the issue has become so complicated and suspicious due to lies, collusion, cover-up, abuse of power, and illegal manoeuvres that it cannot be resolved without incriminating the Attorney-Generals Chambers, Najib, Anwar or Sultan Abdullah. This is the only explanation why Sultan Ibrahim has issued his decree through the AGC for everything to start all over again.
If the addendum has been backdated, it means both Najib and the Pahang Royal House were involved in an illegal manoeuvre which the Anwar government didn’t know. If the document had existed with Anwar’s knowledge, it means there had been a cover-up involving the prime minister and the AGC. Either way, the previous King is toast for signing off an illegal and unconstitutional decree.
In the same breath, it also means the premier has lied through his teeth when he insisted that he was powerless as Najib’s royal pardon is under the sole discretion of the King. But an amendment to the Federal Constitution in 1994 already removed the absolute discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to grant pardons, otherwise, you don’t need a Pardons Board to begin with.
Article 40(1A) stipulates that all powers of the King (including the power to grant pardons) must be exercised in accordance with the advice of the appropriate person or body of persons and he shall accept such advice. Therefore, the King had actually acted on the advice of the Pardons Board because he no longer possessed absolute power like before 1994.
And the proof that the King has to act on the advice of the Pardons Board is revealed in Sultan Ibrahim’s latest decree, which says “the decision made by the King, upon the advice of the Pardons Board under Article 42 of the Constitution, is subject to existing legal provisions to ensure that such actions cannot be legally challenged as invalid in terms of law”.
So, it’s crystal clear that while the King has the power to pardon, he can only exercise such power under the advisement of the Pardons Board, and must be legally compliant to prevent such actions from being challenged in the court at a later stage. Despicable Anwar just trumpeted the power of the King to pardon, deliberately hiding the fact that the power is subject to the Pardons Board’s advice.
It was Anwar’s plan to pardon Najib when the PM revived the Federal Territories Ministry and appointed the useless former Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to the portfolio, who in turn is a member of the Pardons Board. The prime minister then appointed a new friendly Attorney General, who is also a member of the board. Under pressure, he finally admitted to submitting Najib’s application for a royal pardon to the Pardons Board.
The simple fact that the premier had scrambled to assemble his team for the Pardons Board, and blindly submitted Najib’s request for a royal pardon despite knowing the crook had served less than one-third of the jail sentence, already screams collusion and abuse of power just to cling to power by appeasing Najib, whose political party UMNO is a partner of Anwar-led Unity Government.
Still, don’t hold your breath that Najib won’t walk free even with the new King’s decree. Two things could happen here. First, Sultan Ibrahim might not grant Najib his wish for a house arrest until a law for such detention is in place, thus passing the ball back to the Anwar administration. Second, Sultan Ibrahim might give Najib a “full pardon” in the absence of a house arrest provision.
Yes, after Sultan Abdullah gave a partial royal pardon to Najib on his 12-year jail sentence, reducing it to just 6 years, Sultan Ibrahim might give him a “full royal pardon”, allowing the crook to walk free. However, everything depends on the Pardons Board, which PM Anwar controls. The burning question is which channel Anwar wants to use to free Najib – Pardons Board or a new law of house arrest.
If Anwar thought it would be less damaging politically to free Najib by hiding behind the Palace, he would order the Pardons Board to advise the King to grant the crook a second royal pardon. If the PM thinks it would be less damaging to do it through legal means, he would bulldoze a house arrest law. But whether the gimmick could hoodwink voters remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, Anwar’s tactical move to appease UMNO has backfired. Not only a low-ranking leader like Akmal has humiliated him, opposition PAS Islamist party and Bersatu are pouring fuel to the fire by mobilizing supporters to hold a rally to show solidarity with Najib Razak in Putrajaya on Jan 6 – the date of a court hearing on Najib’s application regarding the dubious royal order allowing him to enjoy house arrest. – Finance Twitter