PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim has nothing to do with Umno’s move to seek a royal pardon for disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said.

The PKR lawmaker said that if the doctrine of separation of powers is respected, Anwar’s position as the prime minister and his unity government would be safeguarded from any turmoil caused by Umno’s push for Najib’s release from prison.

“The power of the king is bigger in this matter. For example, the Pardons Board must meet in the presence of the king, who is the chair,” Hassan said, adding that this procedure was specified under article 42 of the Federal Constitution.

“The issue is whether the Pardons Board has met since Najib filed a pardon application in August 2022, noting the Federal Court’s decision to March 31 to reject his application for a review of his conviction.

“This means ‘the ball is in the court’ of the Pardons Board. It is logical if Umno made a direct request to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to pardon Najib, because the prime minister has no power in royal pardons,” Hassan said.

Article 42 gives the king the power to grant a pardon or reprieve to a convict, or even a “clean slate” in some cases.

Najib began serving his 12-year prison sentence on August 23, 2022, after he was found guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for embezzling RM42 million in SRC International funds.

On March 31, a five-member Federal Court panel, by a 4-1 majority, dismissed Najib’s attempt to push for a review the court’s decision to uphold his conviction.

Earlier this week, Najib said he would seek to use the dissenting judgment by Federal Court judge Abdul Rahman Sebli to support his application for a royal pardon.

In his dissenting judgment, Rahman said Najib was denied legal representation during his final appeal.

Yesterday, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin said Umno’s request for the king to consider pardoning the party’s former leader will not harm its alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH) or other factions of the unity government.

Khaled said the party merely wanted to show its gratitude to Najib for the nine years in power, before Barisan Nasional’s fall in the 2018 general election.

Meanwhile, Hassan said the home minister is the minister responsible for the Pardons Board as stipulated under article 42(11).

“Under article 42(5), the pardons board comprises of the attorney-general and ministers appointed by the king.

“It is not the decision of the prime minister,” he added. – April 8, 2023.