Kadir Jasin: Whether BN wins or loses, getting a pardon is not easy
The popular assumption is that Umno/BN officials from the court cluster want the 15th general election to be held earlier in order to avoid going to jail and facilitate getting a royal pardon, he wrote in a column today.
"But it is not that simple when you look at...
Veteran news editor A Kadir Jasin has reminded the public that getting a pardon is not as simple as many think it is.
The popular assumption is that Umno/BN officials from the court cluster want the 15th general election to be held earlier in order to avoid going to jail and facilitate getting a royal pardon, he wrote in a column today.
"But it is not that simple when you look at it in detail.
"First of all, it is not certain that Umno/BN will win in such a way that they can form their own government as before the 2018 general election and return to act as they please.
"Secondly, victory in the by-elections and state elections in Malacca and Johor does not guarantee that Umno/BN can change the course of decline that it has suffered since the 2008 GE.
"And third, it is not that easy to abandon the ongoing series of trials of Umno/BN officials and grant them a royal pardon," he said.
Kadir said in addition to government leadership, the amnesty process would involve the attorney-general, the judiciary, the prime minister, the Amnesty Board and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"The risk is enormous. Umno may collapse and the institutions involved will be openly opposed by many.
"Anwar Ibrahim's pardon in 2018 is often cited as a precedent for pardoning ex-premier Najib Abdul Razak and others in the court cluster gang.
"But don't forget that Anwar has been serving a prison sentence for more than three years since 2015.
"Also, his crime was not to burden the country and the people with billions of ringgit in debt as in the cases that Najib is being charged with in SRC International and 1MDB," said Kadir.
His Majesty's absolute right
Kadir claimed that supporters of the court cluster tend to forget that late Selangor menteri besar Harun Idris had also served a prison sentence in a Bank Rakyat breach of trust case before being granted amnesty.
He was imprisoned in 1977 and was pardoned only in 1982. That was along with 62 other prisoners in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the country's independence.
"Harun did not take the money for himself but to stage Muhammad Ali-Joe Bugner boxing fight in Kuala Lumpur in 1975.
"Similarly, then youth and sports minister Mokhtar Hashim who killed his political enemy, the late Mohamad Taha Talib in 1982, was sentenced to death by hanging in 1983 and the following year, his sentence was commuted to life in prison.
"In 1991, he was granted a second pardon and released after nine years in prison. The late Mokthar had shot dead the speaker of the Negeri Sembilan legislative assembly before the 1982 GE," recalled Kadir.
He said it really was not as easy as believed for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (or other Malay Rulers as well as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri) to grant amnesty.
"The burden of responsibility under the law is very heavy because it is His Majesty's absolute right.
"In the end, it is he who bears the burden of responsibility and risk of the action, not the prime minister or the Pardons Board. They only gave advice to His Majesty," he added.
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