Minister: ‘Pardon authority’ to determine restrictions on Najib during house arrest

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has indicated that a "pihak berkuasa pengampunan" (pardon authority) will determine the terms and restrictions imposed on Najib Abdul Razak when he undergoes house arrest.

This includes matters involving visitation and monitoring.

At present, there is a lack of clarity over the rules Najib will have to follow when he returns home, with one lawyer telling Malaysiakini bluntly that if the former premier is allowed to stay with his wife Rosmah Mansor, there would be nothing stopping him from using her phone.

Without naming Najib, Saifuddin said in a written parliamentary reply dated yesterday that Najib's house arrest under a conditional pardon would not be the same as the house arrest system that the government is planning to establish through legislation, as no such statutory house arrest framework currently exists.

He said the implementation of such conditional pardons, which form part of a constitutional prerogative, is “subject to the decision and conditions set by the relevant pardons authority”.

“Therefore, a placement at a residence made following a conditional pardon decision cannot be directly equated to a house arrest order issued by a court under a specific act.

“For a conditional pardon, any conditions related to control, movement monitoring, visits, or other matters are subject to the decisions and conditions established, as well as the prevailing implementation procedures.

“For example, in implementing a conditional pardon decision that requires a prisoner to remain at a residence, aspects such as visitation, control, and movement monitoring need to be detailed through the relevant standard operating procedures,” he said.

Saifuddin did not specify what he meant by “pardons authority” or whether this referred to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Federal Territories Pardons Board.

Pakatan Harapan leaders have indicated that the decision to grant Najib house arrest was made by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, citing his constitutional prerogative.

Terms and conditions

The house arrest relates to Najib’s SRC International case and will last until Aug 23, 2028. However, he must first pay the RM50 million fine imposed as part of his conviction before he can return home. Umno is still raising funds to pay the fine.

In announcing the pardon decision on Sept 18, the Legal Affairs Division under the Prime Minister’s Department said Najib must comply with all conditions attached to the conditional pardon and would be sent back to prison if he failed to do so.

Those terms have not been specified as of writing.

Meanwhile, after the pardon was announced, Saifuddin said the Home Ministry and Prison Department were waiting to be informed of the particulars of the conditional pardon by the Federal Territories Pardons Board.

Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar was subsequently reported as saying that the Prison Department would release SOPs governing the house arrest.

It remains unclear whether the Prison Department had been empowered to formulate its own SOPs or whether the Pardons Board had already specified any terms.

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