KUALA LUMPUR – A DAP MP has urged the Pardons Board to state if claims made by senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah about conflicting views between the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and other board members over Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s case are true.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng also said it must be determined whether Shafee had broken any law by divulging to the public details of the board’s deliberations before the announcement on the former prime minister’s reduced sentence.
“I strongly urge the Pardons Board and the relevant authorities to state clearly whether the statements made by Shafee are true and his actions were not against any law.
“Usually the deliberations by the Pardons Board are kept confidential, but Shafee has openly revealed yesterday how the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) carried out a secret ballot on paper.
“I urge the Pardons Board to state clearly in no uncertain terms whether it is allowed under our law for Shafee to announce that the YDPA ‘was thinking of giving’ a full pardon to Najib,” Lim said in a statement today.
He was referring to Shafee’s claim to reporters at the Kuala Lumpur courthouse yesterday that the Agong had initially wanted to grant Najib a full pardon, and took a vote from the board’s non-permanent members.
According to Shafee, “the results came back… then the king decided on the alternative, which is what we all know today”, in reference to the sentence reduction from 12 years’ jail to six, and RM210 million fine to RM50 million.
Lim also questioned whether Shafee had acted lawfully in showing the media a purported letter from the Pardons Board to Najib.
Shafee had claimed that the letter explained how the board had advised the king to let Najib complete his full sentence before the alleged voting.
“Is Shafee also allowed under the law to reveal publicly how the YDPA had conducted a secret ballot during the meeting on January 29 to decide whether a full pardon should be granted to Najib?
“Was Shafee invited as an eyewitness at the meeting, or did he make this all up?” Lim asked.
Shafee made these claims yesterday when stating that Najib would likely file a fresh petition for a royal pardon.
Shafee said the reason for making another request for pardon was because “we don’t think the Pardons Board, without denoting any blame to any particular person or persons, I don’t think the board operated the way the constitution expects it to operate.
“The king merely hears opinion and advice, but he decides on his own. I mean, he’s not the king for nothing. It is his prerogative of mercy,” the lawyer said.
The immediate past Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang, had been on the Pardons Board that reduced Najib’s sentence at its January 29 meeting, a day before he ended his reign. The new Agong is Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who ascended the throne on January 31.
The board’s decision to reduce Najib’s sentence and fine was announced on February 2.
Najib’s original sentence and fine was ordered by the high court in July 2020 for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds.
The Federal Court upheld the conviction and sentence and Najib began serving his prison term on August 23, 2022. – February 8, 2024