Zaliha 'zips mouth' on Najib's house arrest bid

Zaliha 'zips mouth' on Najib's house arrest bid

Published: May 3, 2024 4:33 PM


Amid a court case about a purported royal addendum which would allow Najib Abdul Razak to serve his remaining jail time under house arrest, the minister who sits on the Pardons Board refused to comment on the matter.

“No comments from me,” Utusan Malaysia reported Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa as saying.

She also made a gesture of zipping her mouth and added, “Whatever Datuk Seri (Anwar Ibrahim) has said (before), follow that. So, nothing else from me.”

Zaliha (above) was reported to have said this when met during a Hari Raya Aidilfitri event organised by her ministry.

The event was also attended by Anwar and his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Zaliha is a member of the Pardons Board, in her capacity as the federal territories minister.


Judicial review

On April 3, Najib filed a judicial review leave application claiming that apart from being granted a partial pardon, there was also an addendum which would allow him to serve the remaining of his six-year jail term under house arrest.

Hence, the former prime minister is seeking a court order to compel the home minister, the attorney-general, the Pardons Board, the federal government, and a few other respondents to confirm this alleged addendum in the royal pardon.

According to a copy of the judicial review bid, applicant Najib claimed that the addendum was issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 29.

On April 17, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi backed Najib’s claim of a supplementary royal in an affidavit filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on April 9.

When queried on the matter on April 21, Anwar responded by saying that Putrajaya would not question the authority of the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong to decide on Najib’s house arrest issue.

“Our position is clear that any decision made in the Pardons Board, the Agong’s decision, is final.

“Ever since Merdeka until today, there has been no action by the government that goes against the role and power of the Malay rulers, and this we must keep.

“Those who can’t understand the decision, they are not fit to be a political commentator,” the PKR president was reported as saying.