KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lawyer has questioned the credibility of a regional news outlet’s report regarding the Pardons Board, which operates with a high level of confidentiality under the auspices of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and is shielded by the Official Secrets Act 1972.
He noted this stringent secrecy made it improbable for any unauthorised disclosures, encompassing matters from the board’s composition to its decisions.
Surprisingly, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) claims to have obtained information from an unnamed source indicating that the Pardons Board will convene to review the former prime minister’s application in the third week of this month.
Najib’s lead defence lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, expressed bewilderment, emphasising that even Najib himself was unaware of the board’s meeting schedule.
Shafee highlighted the timeline of Najib’s pardon petition, submitted on September 2, 2022, with subsequent addendums on October 18, 2022, and April 20, 2023.
“Thereafter, we have followed with an addendum to the petition on October 18, 2022, and subsequently another addendum on April 20, 2023,” he said in a statement today.
“Both the addendums contained further information for the king’s consideration in relation to the pardon petition. (However) we received no news or clue whatsoever about the petition for pardon until almost the end of 2023.”
Frustrated by the lack of information, Najib’s legal team sent a reminder to the Legal Affairs Division on December 4, 2023, after more than 16 months since the initial filing and over a year and four months of Najib’s imprisonment.
Responding to CNA’s report of a December meeting of the Pardons Board, Shafee asserted that neither Najib nor the defence team were informed of any developments.
Expressing their anxiety over the uncertain status of the petition, Shafee disclosed that reminders to the Legal Affairs Division on December 4 went unanswered.
“Considering that, as of December 4 last year, the petition has been filed more than 16 months earlier and our client has been in prison for a year and four months.
“As lawyers, we are more anxious about our client’s position considering his sole ground for his request for pardon was on the basis that he had never received a fair trial, especially in the final leg of his appeal at the Federal Court,” Shafee said.
“Our client therefore should not spend a day in prison. Considering the above, especially our letter on December 4, 2023, to (the Legal Affairs Division), it is obvious that as of December last year, our client and we are in the dark about the state of our client’s petition for pardon. We are baffled as to how CNA, through their reporter, are able to provide a spectacular ‘news’ in their article pertaining to the status of our client’s pardon petition.”
Highlighting Najib’s claim of an unfair trial, especially during the final appeal at the Federal Court, Shafee stressed the urgency of addressing the petition, arguing that Najib should not spend another day in prison.
Expressing frustration over CNA’s seemingly informed report, Shafee questioned how the news outlet acquired such details when Najib and his legal team were left uninformed.
Shafee took the opportunity to remind the public and the press that the power of the Pardons Board falls under the king’s prerogative, as outlined in Article 42 of the federal constitution.
He emphasised that this prerogative power was absolute and should not be second-guessed, as breaches of confidentiality could lead to violations of the Official Secrets Act 1972.
Najib, 70, was sentenced to a 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine after the Kuala Lumpur High Court found him guilty of misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.
He filed a royal pardon petition on September 2, 2022, and was granted a stay of execution until the Federal Court’s dismissal of his conviction review on March 31, 2023, after which he was sent to jail. – January 10, 2024