PUTRAJAYA: It is former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's right to ask for a royal pardon, says Amanah deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub
"According to the Federal Constitution, any individual who is incarcerated has a basic right to apply for pardon from the Pardons Board which is made up of the King and the Malay Rulers.
"I too have been in prison. It is up to the Pardons Board to decide on the appeal by Najib for a royal pardon," said Salahuddin, adding that Najib's right to request for a royal pardon was enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
He said this to the media at Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house here on Sunday (April 30).
The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister was asked to comment on Subang PAS chief Zaharuddin Muhammad’s statement that it was "Islamic" for Najib to receive a royal pardon over his incarceration.
Zaharuddin had said that a royal pardon for the former Umno president who was currently imprisoned was better than letting him remain in prison until his sentence was completed.
PAS, however, had said that the statement by Zaharuddin was not a party stand, but a personal statement.
On April 7, the Umno supreme council had unanimously agreed to seek an audience with the King to present a memorandum, urging Najib to be pardoned.
Najib, 69, had sought to review a decision by a Federal Court panel led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat which upheld his conviction and sentence for misappropriating RM42mil in SRC International funds on Aug 23 last year.
