KUALA LUMPUR – Any law regarding home detention should first be passed by Parliament, Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) said today, raising concerns about the legality of a purported addendum order for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence.
The civil society group said that as of now, there are no regulations made to allow home detention.
“Our checks show that Section 43 of the Prisons Act 1995 allows for the release of any prisoner ‘on licence’, subject to ‘any regulation made by the minister’.
“Therefore, we conclude that such an appendix, even if it exists, and if it contains what it is alleged to contain, contravenes the principle that laws can only be made by elected legislatures and governments,” it said in a statement today.
It said this principle must be defended because a government’s power to rule is legitimate and lawful, only when it is based on the consent of the elected government.
“If laws can be made by unelected institutions usurping the power of elected officials, then laws are no longer the tools of the people,” the statement said.
“(And) such usurping of accountable government will plunge the nation into crises of legitimacy and stability,” it added.
The group was referring to the former prime minister’s court application, in which he claimed there was an additional addendum to the royal pardon ordering him to serve the remainder of his jail term under “home detention”.
The group said that it would be an affront to the rule of law if Najib was “freed” under the guise of home detention.
“It would be a blatant demonstration of ‘double standards’ of law enforcement. (Or) worse, it would be a subversion of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, a subversion of the very foundation of the Malaysian state.
“Loyalty to king and country is about constitutional monarchy, not royalism. If constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy are compromised, there will be no political stability and accountability,” they said.
Projek Sama also cited a statement on March 2 by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail that the government had agreed, in principle, to implement the licensed release of prisoners, allowing for home detention for prisoners serving jail terms of four years or less.
He said this is an effort to reduce overcrowding in prisons, adding that the ministry is currently examining implementation methods and assessing whether existing laws and regulations need to be enacted or not.
However, lawyers have also previously told Scoop that there are no laws allowing house arrests in Malaysia.
The high court is scheduled to hear Najib’s application for leave for a judicial review on June 5 on the purported royal addendum order for his house arrest.
The former prime minister is requesting the government to substantiate the existence of the order and, if confirmed, to carry out its execution. – May 2, 2024