ISTANBUL: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s power to grant pardons must be respected, said Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi amid reports that Datuk Seri Najib Razak could begin serving his sentence under house arrest today.
The Umno president said observers should refrain from offering their own interpretations of the matter.
“We know that at one time, a leader was given a full pardon by the Pardons Board,” he told reporters.
“We must respect the absolute power of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in granting a pardon that imposes a condition for house arrest.
“This must be respected because it is provided for in the Constitution,” said Zahid, who is on an official visit to Turkiye.
Zahid said Umno was thankful that the conditions for Najib’s house arrest had been met.
Umno has confirmed that the RM50 million fine imposed on Najib was paid today, paving the way for him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest under the terms of his conditional pardon.
On Sept 18, the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had consented to a conditional pardon for Najib at the board’s 64th meeting.
Under the decision, Najib was allowed to serve the remainder of his six-year prison sentence under house arrest, subject to payment of the RM50 million fine relating to the SRC International case.
Najib has been serving his reduced six-year prison sentence at Kajang Prison after the board halved his original 12-year sentence in February 2024.
His initial RM210 million fine was also reduced to RM50 million.
Najib is serving the sentence after the Federal Court upheld his conviction in the SRC International corruption case on Aug 23, 2022.