It should be the KING not the Pardons Board that decide and announce - but the King never announced his decision, which should have been done before his term ended. Why was it delayed? Now, do the NEW King agree????
Article 42 Power of pardon, etc.(Federal Constitution)
(1) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong has power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites in respect of all offences which have been tried by court-martial and all offences committed in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya; and the Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri of a State has power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites in respect of all other offences committed in his State.
Najib's Pardon - Well, the previous King failed to grant any pardon during his tenure that came to an end at the end of January 2024, and now we have a NEW King.
Hence, reasonably we may have to start from the beginning with a new petition of appeal, that will have to start again with a 'new' Pardon Board - noting also that the Pardon Board is supposed to meet in the presence of the King, and who SHALL also preside over the Pardons Board. Well, the NEW KING was not there when the Pardons Board met to deal with Najib's pardon application and consideration - was he now?
Article 42(8) Federal Constitution
(8) The Pardons Board shall meet in the presence of the Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri and he shall preside over it....
(11) For the purpose of this Article, there shall be constituted a single Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya and the provisions of Clauses (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Pardons Board under this Clause except that reference to "Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri" shall be construed as reference to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and reference to "Chief Minister of the State" shall be construed as reference to the Minister responsible for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
Should the NEW KING simply continue on and just grant pardon to Najib (or deny pardon) even if he was not present...or did not preside...? I do not think that this is right - more so since we are talking about the King here - the Yang Di Pertuan Agung.
In Malaysia, the King is not King for life - he is only King for a definite term lasting FIVE(5) years(unless he earlier is removed or resigns) - Article 32(3) of the Federal Constitution states ' (3) The Yang
di-Pertuan Agong shall be elected by the Conference of Rulers for a term
of five years, but may at any time resign his office by writing under
his hand addressed to the Conference of Rulers or be removed from office
by the Conference of Rulers, and shall cease to hold office on ceasing
to be a Ruler.'
There will be NO PROBLEM if the King announced his decision before his term as King came to an end. However, the King never made any public announcement or proclamation - which he would have since this was the question of pardon of a former Prime Minister Najib.
BUT today, we hear the Pardon's Board disclosed that Najib has been pardoned - his sentence was shortened from 12 years to 6 years, and interestingly the fine was reduced more than 50%. His sentence said he had to pay RM210 million - and now Pardon Board says only RM50 million.
And if he does not pay the RM50 million, only 1 year additional jail for such a sum.
Personally, in terms of the FINE, it should never have been reduced. [Note the 5 times the amount involved as fine is a deterrent in law]. Now, for such a criminal, there is a likelihood that there may be many more similar crimes - many of which may never come to court as it is difficult for prosecution to secure sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
There must be reform of the PARDON BOARD
a) The COMPOSITION - it is now the Attorney General (who is now the government's lawyer and also the Public Prosecutor),
Then there is the Minister responsible for the Federal Territories - and we did not have such Minister and thus until recent cabinet reshuffle, it was the PM Anwar Ibrahim. After that re-shuffle, Dr Zaliha (a Minister under the Prime Minister's Department) was made responsible for Federal Territories. Was that Cabinet RE-shuffle meant to distance PM Anwar from being part of the Pardon's Board? Is not a Minister a representative of the Prime Minister(or the Cabinet) - thus the independence of this member of the Pardon Board is questioned.
And 3 other members > reasonably appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.
REFORM Needed - To make the members of the Pardon Board more independent. Maybe they should be appointed by Parliament, rather than on the advise of the Prime Minister. Who are the members of the Pardon Board - bit difficult to find this information - why? Are they government friendly?
2nd REFORM - Pardon should come about after the convicted shows repentance, or because there is evidence of wrong conviction. Then, should not the evidence of wrong conviction be brought to Court rather than the Pardon Board.
3rd REFORM - We need a law about the Pardon Procedure, and certainly the rights of the convict, the ability to make representations, witnesses. There are tens of thousands of convicted criminals - hence Pardon Boards needs to regularly meet to consider all applications for pardon. After an application for pardon, there must be a set time before it be considered by the King. Did Najib's pardon jump queue.
4th Reform - The advice tendered by the Pardon's Board to the King should be subject to Judicial Review. We need it to reasonable, rationale and good advice. This becomes most important after Anwar's pardon and now Najib's pardon - which are persons linked to the government of the day. After all, the King really does not make his own decision - as he is only allowed to do what the Pardon's Board advices him.
Was the Pardon Board's decision unanimous - or was there dissenting views. I believe we have a right to know.
Pardons Board agrees to cut Najib’s jail term by half, out by August 23, 2028 if RM50m fine paid
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 12-year jail term has been halved to six years, which means he can be released earlier on August 23, 2028, the Federal Territories Pardons Board said today.
The Pardons Board said it had also decided to reduce his RM210 million fine to RM50 million, and his early release would be contingent on him paying this amount.
If he fails to do so, his early release date will be a year later on August 23, 2029.
A Flourish table
The announcement released around 3.30pm ended more than three days of suspense and intense speculation over the Pardons Board’s decision on Najib’s bid.
Najib has been imprisoned since August 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for criminal breach of trust, power abuse, and money laundering over the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million.
He has been a prisoner for more than one year and five months now since August 2022, and his 12-year jail term was initially due to end in 2034.
Lawyers had previously said that Najib would only need to serve two-thirds of his prison term if he shows good behaviour as a prisoner.
Based on the typical one-third remission or reduction on jail terms for prisoners with good behaviour, Najib’s release date could for example be as early as August 2026, without considering the one-year extension if he fails to pay the RM50 million fine.
Najib filed his application for a pardon on September 2, 2022, just days after he started serving his 12-year jail term at the Kajang prison.
In the official statement today on behalf of the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division as the board’s secretariat said this decision was made following the January 29 meeting of the Pardons Board for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
It said the Pardons Board meeting, which was chaired by then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, had considered five pardons application including the one from Najib.
The Pardons Board secretariat said the decision — to give a 50 per cent reduction on Najib’s jail term and to reduce the amount of money he has to pay as fine — was made after the Pardons Board considered advice and opinions.
“Therefore, it was agreed for Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak to be released on an early release date namely August 23, 2028 and the fine that has to be paid namely RM210,000,000 be reduced to RM50,000,000,” it said, adding that his already-reduced jail term would be extended by one year if he does not pay the fine and that this release date will then be on August 23, 2029.
Under the Federal Constitution, the Agong chairs the meetings of the Pardons Board for the federal territories, which comprises the attorney general, the Federal Territories minister, and a maximum of three other members appointed by the Agong.
To know how the royal pardon process works in Malaysia, read this summary by Malay Mail.
Source; Malay Mail, 2/2/2024
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