CONTROVERSY over defective court orders was resolved yesterday (Nov 10) when Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Dusuki Mokhtar applied for a fresh court order. It resolves the issue on whether the AG was acting against the interest of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
This also enabled disgraced prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to complete the rest of his prison term under house arrest after being convicted for multiple charges in the SRC International Bhd case.
UMNO, too, are big winners as they were the ones who settled Najib’s RM50 million fine. They can now claim that they have Najib’s back. Najib is, after all, the immediate former party president.
The biggest loser, meanwhile, is DAP secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook. Loke quit his position as Transport Minister effective yesterday evening. The resignation comes as it had been decided in the party’s central executive meeting.
DAP and its Pakatan Harapan counterparts had always been against the idea of Najib being released since Najib contributed towards Malaysia infamous via the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
Loke’s withdrawal is also a hit on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani government. He is not the first to quit. Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Datuk Ewon Benedick quit the Cabinet previously.
How much would the withdrawals impact the government is yet to be seen. It would definitely dent Malaysia’s credentials as having a stable government.
So what this episode involving Najib has got to do with the common man on the street?
A House Arrest Act that hasn’t seen the light of the day
As recent as Sept 2026, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was reported to have raised the possibility of having a House Arrest Act.
Under the act, remand detainees who meet the requirements can be considered by the court to be placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring until their trial.
The act would aid in reducing the overpopulation of prisoners. There are around 83,000 inmates in the prisons nationwide that are meant to house 76,000 detainees.
A total of 35% of them are remand detainees waiting for trial. That is equivalent to 29,050 remand detainees.
A check on the Parliament’s website does not indicate that the Home Minister is tabling the proposed act anytime soon.
The former MP was able to be placed under house arrest with a conditional pardon and court directive.
Perhaps the Madani government should look into options of implementing house arrest without the need for a House Arrest Act.
While it is undeniable that Najib got his house arrest fast tracked due to the royalty and Anwar himself, those currently in remand would be denied justice if they continue languishing behind bars.
Madani needs to uphold the values it claims to espouse by addressing this matter before the end of this present term either with an act or a court order. – Nov 11, 2026.
