Reveal who’s responsible for house arrest delay, says Wawasan

Wawasan has urged the government to reveal who is responsible for delaying the implementation of former Umno president Najib Razak’s house arrest.

Wawasan information chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the government should carry out the order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong immediately. He said the king’s power of pardon cannot be “reinterpreted by government officials according to political convenience”.

Wan Fayhsal said that although the government’s machinery had already been mobilised to carry out the order, “everything was stopped at the last minute”.

He said the government must say who directed the commissioner-general of prisons to stop Najib’s transfer to his residence. “Were the prime minister or any other minister involved, or were they informed before the decision was made?” he asked.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has said its request to defer Najib’s house arrest was made to clarify the High Court’s order of discharge yesterday in which the Kajang prison was directed to “discharge (the prisoner) forthwith”. The attorney-general said the order raised legal questions about the effect of the order on Najib’s jail sentence in two other cases.

An Istana Negara statement today said there should be no confusion over the conditional pardon order, which was unambiguous and unrelated to any other cases. The palace said there should be no prolonged delays in implementing it. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later said the attorney-general, Dusuki Mokhtar, had requested an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, to discuss the matter.