.png)
KULIM – The Home Ministry and Prisons Department are still awaiting an official letter from the Pardons Board on the decision allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the ministry would first need to receive and study the letter before determining the next course of action in accordance with existing laws.
“At the Home Ministry, where the Prisons Department is under it, first we will wait for the official letter informing us of the decision made by the Pardons Board yesterday.
“Right now, we have not received anything. From that notification, only then will we be clear about what further action we will take, in accordance with the existing legal provisions,” he said.
He said this when met after visiting the family of four children who drowned at Taman Desa Kayangan, Sungai Karangan here on Saturday.
On Friday, media reports stated that Najib had received a conditional pardon from the King, Sultan Ibrahim, with the remainder of his prison sentence to be served under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.
The decision was made during the 64th meeting of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya on Friday.
According to the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, the conditional pardon was subject to Najib paying a RM50 million fine.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the contents of the letter would also need to be studied to clarify details of the decision, including whether the location for the house arrest had been determined or would be left to the Prisons Department.
“I want to see the letter first. Right now, Najib is serving his sentence in prison. House arrest means he will not be in prison but will be at another premises and there will certainly be processes involved,” he added.
Elaborating further, he said the Home Ministry needed clarification on the decision before any action could be taken to ensure its implementation was in line with the Pardons Board’s decision.
Previously, the Pardons Board had decided to reduce Najib’s prison sentence from 12 years to six years, while reducing his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Saifuddin said if the RM50 million fine was paid, Najib’s release date would be Aug 23, 2028, while if it was not paid, he would be released on Aug 23, 2029.
In a related development, Saifuddin said Malaysia currently had no specific law governing the house arrest mechanism and the Home Ministry had obtained Cabinet policy approval to begin the process of tabling the House Arrest Bill in Parliament.
He said the proposal was initially intended to help address prison overcrowding, particularly involving remand prisoners.
“Right now, we have 41 prisons, but the prison population is around 93,000, while our prison capacity is only 75,000.
“If the Bill is passed, we can release these remand prisoners to their homes and equip them with all the modern devices to monitor their movements until the date of their trial,” he said.
