KUALA LUMPUR: The house arrest arrangement for Datuk Seri Najib Razak does not mean the existence of “double standards” in the justice system, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the right to seek a pardon was available to everyone, regardless of their wealth or status, after being convicted and going through the judicial process.
Saifuddin said the process involved three stages: an individual’s right to petition for a pardon, the Pardons Board’s consideration of the application under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution, and the Home Ministry’s implementation of the board’s decision.
He said the ministry had no authority over the Pardons Board’s decision to approve or reject a pardon application.
“Once a decision was issued, however, it was the ministry’s responsibility, through the Prisons Department, to implement it and its implementation must follow proper order and the rule of law.
“Whether perceptions arise in the eyes of the public, that is something we cannot avoid.
“However, we uphold the principle of equality before the law. Once a decision has been made by the Board, it becomes our responsibility to ensure its execution has clear procedures and a strong legal basis,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was responding to Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai), who said the arrangement could create a public perception of “two-tier justice”, with ordinary citizens serving their sentences in prison while a former leader was placed under house arrest.
On the cost implications, Saifuddin said the Prisons Department had stationed three officers per shift at Najib’s residence in Taman Duta, while police provided static and round-the-clock surveillance.
He said the deployment involved only a rearrangement of existing duties, with officers previously assigned to Kajang Prison now stationed at the residence.
“There is no specific additional cost involved,” he said.
Saifuddin also sought to defend the Attorney-General’s Chambers (A-GC) decision to seek clarification over the original discharge order issued after Najib paid the RM50 million fine on Nov 6.
He said the Prisons Department had referred the matter to the attorney-general because the document stated that Najib was to be released immediately, leaving the department without authority to continue holding him or implement house arrest, parole or a supervised release arrangement.
He said the High Court subsequently set aside the original discharge order and issued a fresh conditional release order that reflected the house arrest arrangement.
Saifuddin said the A-GC’s intervention was necessary because of the ambiguity in the court document, stressing that the Home Ministry was an implementing agency, not the administrator of the law.
He rejected suggestions that the authorities had deliberately disobeyed or delayed the implementation of the Pardons Board’s decision, saying the government had neither challenged the board’s decision nor deprived Najib of his rights as an inmate.
“Allegiance to the royal institution does not mean we can disregard legal procedures.
“At the same time, upholding the rule of law does not mean questioning the royal institution. Both must go hand in hand in a country that practises parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy,” he said.