Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the government need not seek a lighter sentence for student Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, who was convicted of collecting, producing and distributing child pornography by a London court.
"I disagree with suggestions or comments by certain quarters saying the government should appeal the Nur Fitri case to reduce his sentence, and less so the use public funds for this purpose," he said on his blog.
However, he believes the Imperial College mathematics student should be given counselling so he would not re-offend .
"This is required so he can be accepted into society again," he said.
Najib's comments comes after Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said consular services will not be extended to those convicted of crimes abroad.
Agreeing with Anifah, the PM said Nur Fitri was given a chance to defend himself in a British court.
"His offence is a serious crime. We must respect the law and anyone found guilty must be appropriately punished," he said.
The London Metropolitan Police in a raid found Nur Fitri next to a life size doll of a little boy and 30,000 copies of child pornography on his electronic devices.
The Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) scholar was sentenced to five years jail and will be deported after serving his sentence.
Mara has demanded that he pay back all the money extended for his studies.
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