VETERAN journalist and blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin has seemingly joined the chorus of Malaysians who are left unconvinced with the justification by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail that UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been granted special approval by the Prisons director-general (DG) to visit incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the Kajang Prison recently.
In a two-sentence rebuttal, the former UMNO member for 32 years who deserted the party’s struggle in 2015 – coincidentally at the height of Najib’s administration – penned his thoughts on Facebook (FB) as follows:
“To be fair, accord special permission to visit all prisoners. Want to make money, then turn the prison into a tourist destination.”
Responding to a comment by a netizen, Kadir opined that this is not about the “Madani government suddenly becoming prisoner-friendly” but a distinction needs to be drawn between “going to jail because of the struggle for independence which is an honour like what the late (Nelson) Mandela went through and going to jail for committing a crime”.
The former editor-in-chief of mainstream daily New Straits Times further hinted that an unhealthy precedence has been set when a netizen asked “how to apply for permission if supposedly I want to see Najib”.
“There is already a precedent in place. Can try to make a special application as suggested by the Home Minister,” he teased.
Yesterday (June 14), Saifuddin told a media briefing that the visit by Zahid who is also the Deputy Prime Minister was carried out in accordance with Rule 86, Section 10 of the Prison Regulations 2000.
“Regulation 86 provides the authority to grant the special permission to the Prisons DG or the Home Minister,” he justified.
“The Prisons DG informed me. That is the procedure so there is no problem. The important thing is that he notified me.”
Commenting further, Saifuddin also played down Zahid’s action of bringing Najib who is the former UMNO president his favourite food during the said visit. According to Saifuddin, Rule 99 (in the same section) allows visitors to bring food from outside if they obtain permission of the prison officer on duty at the time.
Zahid when delivering his president’s closing speech at the 2023 UMNO general assembly on Saturday (June 10) revealed that he had met and had breakfast with the former Pekan MP when he visited him at the Kajang Prison for about two hours.
Below are some other sensible comments that netizens had left on Kadir’s FB page:
Mahadzir Md Said: True. It’s a rule that if one is not a relative, he can’t visit the prisoner. I bring my friend to visit his son every month, I can’t enter because I’m not a close family member. Can’t even bring in food or drinks. Only can leave RM150/month on the counter for the prisoner to buy his/her necessities.
Bell Andre: Already there is no blood relation, bring in food some more during the visit. And the duration of the visit was long. How about the fate of other prisoners who stole because their families were hungry? This is so ridiculous.
Kembara Diri: Don’t try to use the act to confuse the people. The unanswered question is what is the special approval for? What’s so special that the minister can give special permission and time of up to two hours? Please don’t let the law be undermined by political interest.
Muz Mustafa: It was said that approval has been granted in line with written procedures in the Prison Act 1995. I saw and read the Prisons Act but it’s a little loose. My question is if an application is made, is the permission granted based on the stated criteria? Or it’s fine so long as there is an approval without any proper reasoning.
Azman Man: Don’t be biased. Even though we are hardcore PH (Pakatan Harapan supporters), we and many others are watching your actions. Don’t do something that hurts the people’s heart. A prisoner is a prisoner. Even if you steal a pack of cigarettes, you’re a prisoner if you are convicted.
In fact, Zahid’s visit to the Kajang Prison has also caught the attention of several lawyers who asked the Prisons Department to explain if it was a form of special treatment given to Najib or Zahid or if it was done according to the established procedure. – June 15, 2023
