PRIME Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim cannot hide behind the Pardons Board or the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) when it comes to the question of whether there is a supplementary order for incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be placed under house arrest.
The word is going around that the former King might have issued a supplementary order for Najib to be placed under house arrest.
UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is in the midst of preparing an affidavit to affirm the existence of the supplementary order.
The affidavit is supposedly based on the information gathered from Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz who was the former Selangor UMNO treasurer.
However, there are rumours that Tengku Zafrul might have his own version about the supplementary order.
It was on the grounds of the existence of the supplementary order that Najib has commenced legal proceeding to get the government to confirm the existence of the order.
But when asked by the media, Anwar replied that he doesn’t want to get involved on matters that concern the Pardons Board, its representatives and the Agong (former YDPA Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah).
As the Tamil proverb says, Anwar is “a slippery fish that is difficult to hold on to clean”. How can Anwar wiggle out of the controversy surrounding the supplementary order ostensibly signed by the former Agong?
Ignorance is bliss?
Surely, he should be on the top of events and issues as the PM of the country. He cannot say that he has no knowledge of what happened or about the existence of the supplementary order.
I am sure the country’s Attorney-General (AG) who represents the government in the Pardons Board must have appraised Anwar of the matters. If there is no supplementary order, why can’t Anwar just deny it.?
Whether Anwar acknowledges the existence of the supplementary order ortherwise, there are attempts to release Najib from the prison even with temporary house arrest.
Halving of Najib’s sentence was a clear indication that he was set on the road to ultimate freedom. However, the process might not be as straightforward as some expect.
Anwar might have been fully appraised of the attempts to get the ultimate release from prison. He cannot simply pretend that he is not in the know. It is just that there must be the possibility of house arrest before he is fully released from captivity.
The idea of house arrest might be something alien to Malaysia. But in the Bolehland of ours, there is always the possibility.
Najib might set the example as the first prisoner to be given the right to house arrest. It is not that Anwar is aloof or disinterested on the matter but he is fully aware of the UMNO politics behind the attempts to ultimately free Najib.
It is argued that the release of Najib is the only option left to strengthen UMNO. Over the last one year or so, Anwar seems to have moved closer to UMNO. Some are saying that Anwar is beholden to UMNO for reasons of history and contemporary politics.
Anwar might pretend but the fact remains that he behaves more a like a leader of UMNO than PKR. No wonder there are remarks that Anwar is not heading the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) coalition but the government by UMNO. – April 23, 2024
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
