KUCHING: Former prime minister and president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot have a pardon application submitted on his behalf by the party.
Former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said under Regulation 113 of the Prisons Regulations 2000, UMNO has no locus standi or legal standing to submit an appeal for Najib’s pardon.
“According to the regulation, the petition can be filed only either by the prisoner himself or his immediate family members, the latter meaning his wife or children.
“This also means that the party or even his lawyer cannot petition on his behalf,” he told the New Straits Times.
Wan Junaidi was responding to UMNO’s announcement that it would ask Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to consider granting a royal pardon for Najib, who is serving a 12-year jail term for corruption.
Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he would use the dissenting judgment of Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli to support the application.
Wan Junaidi said the power to grant a pardon rests with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Citing Article 42 (1) of the Federal Constitution, he said, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has the power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites in respect of all offences that have been tried in a court and all offences committed in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
“The composition of the Pardons Board for Najib’s case, among others, will include the prime minister and the attorney-general (AG), and the board will include three other members, who are neither members of parliament nor politicians.
“These three members will be appointed by the AG after receiving the consent of the king,” NST quoted him, adding that the Pardons Board would meet in the presence of the King, who will preside over it.
While reviewing the petition, he said, the board would study written reports from the AG and the Prisons Department director-general before advising the King.
“The King will be present when the board deliberates on the case, and will also hear all the briefings and look into the report,” he said.
In matters related to royal pardons, he said after the King, another individual within the Pardons Board with the most significant role is the AG.
“The granting of a royal pardon is not within the scope of the administration or the executive.
“As such, in the matter of an application for a pardon, the AG will provide his legal opinion and advice from the AG’s Chambers,” he said as quoted.
Despite this, he said, the ultimate decision to grant a pardon rests solely with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Wan Junaidi said the King can either grant the royal pardon, reduce the sentence or offer a reprieve.
