Anwar: I will be part of Pardons Board panel to decide on Najib’s fate
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Mr Anwar Ibrahim said that any individual can apply for a pardon in Malaysia, and it will be subject to the law and legal process.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SHAH ALAM - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be part of the Pardons Board panel to decide on former premier Najib Razak’s request for a royal pardon.
Datuk Seri Anwar also said that any individual can apply for a pardon in Malaysia, and it will be subject to the law and the legal process.
“I will be part of the process, and on the matters of the awarding of honorific titles and pardons, that is the prerogative of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Malaysian King).
“We don’t have to debate this in public because we have to go through that process,” he said after launching a programme in Shah Alam on Saturday.
He also said there is no issue of conflict of interest. “I have not seen the process. We have to look at the case. I think it is a bit premature for me to comment now, because I have not seen anything except Umno’s resolution,” said Mr Anwar.
He reiterated that any convict has the right to appeal. “I don’t want to preclude anyone in that matter. But the process is, of course, very elaborate. It has to be followed, and finally, the decision is solely the discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan,” said Mr Anwar.
According to the Constitution, the Pardons Board comprises the attorney-general, the chief minister or menteri besar, or the Federal Territories minister, and no more than three members appointed by the King.
In December last year, the Federal Territories Ministry was restructured into a department under the Prime Minister’s Department. Mr Anwar did not announce a Federal Territories minister when he announced his Cabinet last December. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
