Opinion: 10 reasons why Najib must stay in jail

By P Gunasegaram

The question of home detention for convicted former PM Najib Razak has been raised yet again, this time in a recent interview, titled In Conversation With Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in Qatar.

Anwar indicated that while he considers the King’s decision on this final, if asked, he would advise the King to wait until Najib's ongoing trials are completed. That’s a good line to take but to say that it is the King who decides the final outcome may not be right.

We are a constitutional monarchy. The Federal Constitution in Article 40. (1) says the King acts on advice except where it is provided otherwise. Pardons are not listed as one of the functions where he can exercise his discretion.

The Pardons Board, headed by the King, has already made its decision. As I wrote in this article titled How much more must we bend for Najib? : “It’s bad enough that the Pardons Board halved his jail sentence and reduced that RM210 million fine to a mere RM50 million, now Ahmad Zahid (Hamidi, deputy PM) has sworn an affidavit saying that the (previous) King consented to his house arrest in an addendum. But that was not what the Pardons Board had decided.”

There is no reason to revisit that decision by the Pardons Board, although Najib’s lawyers are arguing otherwise in court proceedings which are not open to the public, an unnecessary veil which arouses public mistrust.

On top of that, the decision by the Pardon’s Board did not even follow convention where a convict has to serve at least one third of the sentence before a pardon is even considered. Also, Najib ought to have joined a long queue waiting for pardons.

If there are any further doubts that Najib should continue his time in jail and not be put in an accelerated program of home detention spearheaded by the corrupt Umno Baru, here are 10.

1. There is no provision for home detention

Although there are moves to put in legislation which allows for home detention of certain categories of prisoners, they are not in force yet. Even if they were, Najib has already been convicted of very serious offences and faces many more charges. He is undeserving.

2. There is no clarity of the addendum by the previous King

It’s not clear if the Pardons Board was aware of this and how it came about. The situation is complicated by the relevant court deciding not to hold proceedings in public and by the denial of Tengku Zafrul Aziz’ application to the court to amend Ahmad Zahid’s sworn affidavit. Thus, the Pardon Board’s decision must stand.

3. The Pardon Board’s decision can’t be amended

The board has made a decision and it must stand. The previous King headed the Pardons Board but the decision was collective. Najib’s pardon application was heard and a verdict has been given. For better or worse, it cannot be reversed.

4.Fast-tracking his application for pardon is wrong

Despite the pardon application being heard, the process was wrong. It came too soon - before he had served even two years. There were others ahead of him in the long line. And Najib never expressed regret or repentance but said that he did not receive a fair trial.

5. Whether the King has absolute power of pardon is debatable

In a constitutional monarchy, the king does not have absolute power but follows advice except for some functions which are clearly spelt out. The pardon process is not one of them.

6. Najib faces other serious charges

Najib faces further criminal charges and civil action, all of which involved sums in the billions of ringgit. It would be a waste of time, resources and money to keep revisiting past issues and making decisions which may have to be reversed further out.

7. Convictions and charges imply major damage to the country

One thing that Umno has ignored over and over again in their premature, persistent push for a pardon for Najib and a rather in appropriate home detention for very serious offences including corruption and money laundering, is that these offences have done very serious damage to the country.

8. There are no redeeming factors.

Najib sacked Umno senior leaders and key enforcement, regulatory and investigative officials to keep things under wraps. If he had not lost power in the 2018 elections he would have continued in his ways to inflict untold damage the country. He has few if any redeeming factors.

9. It will set a bad precedent and example

It is said that politicians take care of their own kind. This is exemplified in Najib’s case when virtually the entire leadership of Umno and then some in other parties back the efforts at pardon and home detention. That will set a bad precedent and example for the entire country and encourage similar activities.

10. It circumvents all legal principles and the law

The basic principle of the legal system is the rule of law and that everyone is given a fair trial and reasonable attempts to present their case. That has been given to Najib, in fact much more so than a normal person.

If he is given special privileges and dispensation, the entire legal system collapses and will encourage others to transgress the law, knowing that there are avenues to circumvent legal principles and even the law by abusing other procedures such as pardons.

There are many more reasons. But these 10 are more than sufficient to conclude that not only is a pardon, although done, inappropriate but any attempt to free him into his own home where luxury is at hand and people to cater to his every whim and fancy is the very antithesis of a prison sentence.

(P Gunasegaram says that when all reason and sanity is abandoned, sinister forces are at play.)

P Gunasegaram is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!

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