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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stressed on Apr 21 that the decision is under the jurisdiction of the Pardons Board and the king, following Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s recent affidavit supporting Najib Razak’s bid for house arrest.
SINGAPORE: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has refused to be drawn into former premier Najib Razak’s bid to serve the remainder of his six-year jail sentence under house arrest.
“The decision must be made at the Pardons Board meeting and the final decision by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must also be made at the meeting,” said Mr Anwar in his speech at the Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) 25th anniversary convention on Sunday (Apr 21), according to The Star.
Malaysia’s Pardons Board consists of the attorney-general, the chief minister and a maximum of three others appointed by the country’s king or state ruler. In Najib’s case, Dr Zaliha Mustafa - as the federal territories minister - is part of the board reviewing his bid.
On Sunday, Mr Anwar also stressed that relationships among the parties in the unity government were “stable and strong” although there were some issues that needed to be negotiated outside Cabinet, referring to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s recent affidavit, where he claimed to have seen a royal order supporting Najib’s bid.
The unity government consists of Mr Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN) - of which the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is a component party - as well as parties from Malaysia’s Borneo states.
