Tengku Razaleigh on Addendum Issue — Four unanswered questions
FMT reported on Monday, 6 January 2025, UMNO stalwart Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was questioning the party’s next move after Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak won his appeal to pursue his claim over a royal addendum allowing him to serve his remaining jail sentence under house arrest.
The former Gua Musang MP and finance minister said the Court of Appeal’s decision on that day and the letter from the comptroller of the Pahang royal household produced in court raised four crucial questions concerning the unity government.
“How did the government not have any information on the existence of this house arrest ‘addendum’ issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong? How does this affect Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement in Parliament on this matter?
“Following the attorney-general’s statement, at the order of the king, that all appeals for Najib must go through a new process (to the pardons board), what are the legal implications of the new evidence confirmed by the Pahang palace?
“Fourthly, what will be UMNO’s reaction and further action, and what will happen to its position in the unity government with this new evidence?” Tengku Razaleigh, the UMNO adviser, said in a statement.
Last week, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said all proposals for prisoners in the federal territories to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest, including Najib, have to be submitted to the pardons board.
Several days later, Istana Negara said the king holds the prerogative to grant pardons under Articles 42(1) and (2) of the Federal Constitution, based on the advice of the pardons board he chairs, for offences committed within the federal territories.
It said that if any party wishes to propose that a prisoner be granted a pardon or sentence reduction, the application must be submitted by the prisoner for consideration by the pardons board at the next meeting.
Earlier on Monday 16 January, the Court of Appeal granted Najib leave to begin judicial review proceedings to compel the government to execute the supplementary decree issued by the former king.
Justice Encik Firuz Jaffril said Najib had, after the High Court hearing in July, obtained a copy of the addendum from the Pahang ruler, who was the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
During submissions, lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said Najib’s son, Datuk Nizar, had filed another affidavit two days ago claiming that the comptroller of the Pahang royal household had confirmed the existence of the addendum order and verified its authenticity.
Separately, UMNO Youth chief Datuk Seri Dr Akmal Saleh urged the government to reveal the party responsible for keeping under wraps the addendum order, after home minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail insisted he had no knowledge on the matter.
“If the court has confirmed that the addendum order exists, the question is who kept the order hidden? We ask the government to answer,” said Akmal.
At a press conference in the evening on the same day, Saifuddin said his ministry did not receive any addendum or directive allowing Najib to serve his sentence under house arrest.
The home minister said the ministry only received two documents regarding Najib’s case – the minutes of the Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting and the official pardons board order reducing his prison sentence and fine.
The appearance and act on the above video are for illustration purpose only.
End©Permadu
By Fauzi Kadir Chief Editor |
Final editing and brought to you by |
(Semua Hak Cipta Terpelihara)
Visiting Permadu Malaysia is absolutely free and we operate with non-profit making objective. We hope you enjoy and feel happy visiting and reading every presentation from us.
If you have the generosity to support our operations and continuous activities of charity to those who are less fortunate, we would be grateful to accept sincere contributions from any individuals or organisations.
Contact us at permadu@gmail.com for further details and information. No obligation and no commitment.
Comments
Post a Comment