KUCHING, April 6 — The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) opines that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should not be allowed to serve his remaining prison sentence at home.
It was referring to the claims made by Najib of additional terms or addendum in the royal pardon by the King, which will allow him to serve the remainder of his six-year jail sentence under house arrest.
“Based on current practices, house arrest sentences are only granted to prisoners involved in minor offences, namely those serving prison sentences of four years or below through the Licensed Prisoner Release Programme (PBSL).
“Furthermore, he (Najib) still faces several serious criminal charges pending in court,” said Bersih in a statement yesterday.
The coalition, however, said if prisoners involved in serious crimes like Najib were granted the privilege of house arrest, it would be fairer for this privilege to be extended to other prisoners who are in greater need, particularly female prisoners who still have young children.
Therefore, Bersih emphasised that the principle of equal justice under law must always be upheld as the primary principle to preserve the sovereignty of the country’s legal system.
It also questioned why this matter was only raised now, whereas in the Pardons Board decision dated Feb this year — also disclosed by his lawyer Tan Sri Mohamed Shafee Abdullah — there was no mention of a house arrest order.
“At the same time, if there indeed exists an additional section or addendum dated Jan 29, 2024, as claimed by him, why was this not disclosed by his lawyer earlier?
“These latest allegations seem to set a new precedent; for official Pardons Board decisions, that have been finalised, be allowed to be altered at any time,” added Bersih. — The Borneo Post
