Lawyers for Liberty refers to the return of Najib Razak to his house last night to serve the sentence of ‘house arrest’, following the conditional pardon granted on 18 September.
This is a disaster for the country’s fight against corruption, a disaster for our country’s international reputation and a disaster for foreign investments in the country.
The 1MDB corruption scandal was of global proportion, and the world was watching to see if the rule of law and financial integrity would be upheld in Malaysia.
The prime minister and the government are responsible for the ‘house arrest order’ and must stop pretending that they had nothing to do with it or attempt to pass the buck to anyone else.
It is now confirmed for the first time by the statement of Istana Negara dated 7 November that the federal territories minister and the attorney general attended the pardons board meeting and gave their advice to the King for the house arrest order.
Under Article 40(1A), the King is bound to accept the advice tendered by the pardons board. This settles beyond doubt that the decision to grant Najib house arrest was the decision and the act of the government through the pardons board.
It must be remembered that the board includes the attorney general and the minister responsible for the federal territories. So the order was made on the advice of the board, and the government was in the room.
It should be noted that the King only acts upon his own discretion in the limited situations stated in Article 40 of the Federal Constitution; when it comes to the power of pardon, the King acts upon advice.
In the light of the palace statement, stating that advice was received, will the prime minister and the government finally admit responsibility for Najib’s house arrest order?
Now that house arrest has been allowed for Najib, what about other prisoners who qualify?
Article 8 of the Federal Constitution says everyone is equal before the law. The home minister has said Malaysia has no specific house arrest law. Will they get the same treatment as Najib?
On 11 October a 43-year-old unemployed father of five was sentenced to six months in jail by the Kota Baru Magistrates’ Court for stealing RM394 worth of baby formula and groceries from a supermarket in Kelantan. Will he get the same treatment as Najib?
If house arrest is to be implemented in Malaysia, the government should bring a proper house arrest law to Parliament. The law should set clear criteria that any prisoner can apply under, such as age, health, the nature of the offence and the time left to serve.
Applications must be decided through a transparent process, not behind closed doors. The government must not pick and choose who gets house arrest, and there must be no hidden agendas.
Lastly, the prime minister cannot act as if he had no part in this. On 11 November, hours after the high court’s order, he shared a hadith on equal punishment regardless of a person’s standing, clearly directed at Najib.
It is misleading to present himself now as a bystander. The hadith applies first to those in power. It does not remove the government’s responsibility. It raises the standard the government must meet.
We therefore demand that:
- The prime minister and the government publicly accept responsibility for the advice that led to Najib’s house arrest and for the confusion that followed
- The government table a proper house arrest law in Parliament, with clear, published criteria open to all prisoners, including convicts
- The home minister and the Prisons Department review all prisoners who meet the government’s house arrest criteria, and explain publicly why any who are refused are treated differently from Najib.
Equality before the law is not for the powerful alone. If house arrest is available to Najib, it must be available to every other convicted person who deserves it. – LFL
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN), Maybank a/c 507246118995 or CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a regular pledge or periodic auto-donation to Aliran
- Become an Aliran member
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
