FINALLY, ANWAR COMING TO HIS SENSES OVER NAJIB PARDON? – AMID MASSIVE PUBLIC BACKLASH, PKR’S HASSAN KARIM NOW CHANGES HIS TUNE – WARNS OF ‘DISASTER’ FOR PKR & PAKATAN AT STATE POLLS IF NAJIB & ZAHID FREED – THIS JUST 2 DAYS AFTER CLAIMING PARDON BID WON’T CAUSE RIFT IN UNITY GOVT, ANWAR CAN’T ADVISE AGONG AS IT’S KING’S SOLE PREROGATIVE
Disaster for PH if Najib, Zahid freed, warns PKR MP
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim says PKR and PH risk being rejected in the coming six state elections.
PETALING JAYA: A Pakatan Harapan MP has warned that both the coalition and PKR risk being rejected by voters if former prime minister Najib Razak is pardoned and deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is freed from his corruption charges.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim warned that both scenarios would be a “disaster” for the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Zahid’s corruption trial has been adjourned to August to allow the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct further investigations.
RELATED STORY: Petition on Najib’s royal pardon: 140,000 oppose, 9,400 support
In Najib’s case, the former Pekan MP is seeking a royal pardon after the Federal Court dismissed his bid to review his conviction and prison sentence related to the SRC International case.
Hassan said Anwar’s image is being tarnished by Najib’s bid for a royal pardon and the adjournment of Zahid’s trial.
He warned Anwar that PH risks being rejected by voters in the six upcoming state elections and the next general election.
“As a result, PH and PKR will go down with Barisan Nasional and Umno if Najib and Zahid are freed just like that,” he said in a Facebook post.
“If that happens, don’t say I did not give any warning.” FMT
To pardon is King’s prerogative, PM can’t advise, says PKR MP
08 Apr 2023, 11:22am
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim says Umno’s request for the Agong to consider pardoning Najib Razak won’t cause a rift in the unity government.
PETALING JAYA: Umno’s request for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to consider pardoning its former president Najib Razak will not cause a rift in the unity government as it is the sole prerogative of the King to grant a pardon, a PKR MP said.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said the Agong could make a decision upon consultation with the Pardons Board and did not require the advice of the prime minister or the Cabinet.
He said it was “irrelevant” to ask if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faced a dilemma over the matter as the Federal Constitution clearly stated that it was the sole prerogative of the Agong to grant pardons.
“Anwar and the government he leads are safe from Umno’s request for the Agong to grant a pardon (to Najib) if they adhere to the doctrine of separation of powers and do not interfere in the Agong’s right to grant pardons in accordance with Article 42 of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement.
“As prime minister, Anwar cannot be blamed if the pardon process is slow and he cannot be blamed if the pardon is granted or rejected.”
Yesterday, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin said the party’s request for the Agong to consider pardoning Najib would not harm its alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and other components in the unity government.
He said the party merely wanted to show its appreciation and gratitude towards the former prime minister for the nine years in power before Barisan Nasional’s fall in the 2018 general election.
Khaled said the relationship with PH in the unity government was not the issue as it was up to the Agong to make a decision. Umno and PKR are partners in the unity government.
He also reiterated the statement by the party’s secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki that the Supreme Council would appeal for a royal pardon from the King for Najib as the party believed he had been denied justice.
Najib began serving his 12-year prison sentence on Aug 23, 2022 after he was found guilty of criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering in relation to SRC’s RM42 million.
Earlier this week, Najib said he would seek to use the dissenting judgment by Federal Court judge Abdul Rahman Sebli to support his application for a royal pardon.
On March 31, Rahman released a 78-page minority judgment, which stated that Najib had no legal representation when a Federal Court panel heard and dismissed his appeal in the SRC International corruption case.
Rahman, who is the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, was a member of a five-panel Federal Court bench which heard Najib’s application for a review of the court’s decision to dismiss his appeal in the SRC case. The other four judges found no grounds to free Najib. FMT
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