PETALING JAYA: Senior lawyer Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has lambasted the Bar Council for its statement that a royal pardon for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would make a mockery of the national justice system.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Sept 14), Zaid questioned the Bar Council's motive behind the statement.
"It is as if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is confirmed to give Najib the royal pardon. What is the actual motive of these pressure-filled statements?" he asked.
He went on to explain how the power of clemency was in fact an honour by the law towards the King and the Malay Rulers.
"This should be respected by all Malaysians," he said.
Zaid also cited an example of such pardons in the United States, when its former president Donald Trump pardoned 70 individuals in just one term of office.
"Nobody said the justice system there was flawed or impaired when this happened," he said, adding that even members of the military who caused the death of children in Baghdad had received pardons.
He added that he was also saddened by pressure on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to not grant a pardon to Najib.
"This shows insolence. We must all respect His Majesty's judgement because he is our King and the head of state," he said.
On Tuesday (Sept 13), the Bar Council issued a statement saying Najib did not deserve a royal pardon as he had only begun to serve his jail sentence.
It added that Najib's case was unlike other jailed politicians such as Anwar Ibrahim, Harun Idris and Mokhtar Hashim, who served a substantial part of their jail sentence before being pardoned and released.
Its president, Karen Cheah Yee Lynn, said a full pardon at this stage would be perceived as premature as Najib was still facing numerous other charges and would set a "dangerous precedent" that powerful politicians were "above the law or beyond reproach".
