Najib’s house arrest issue won’t keep PH voters from Melaka polls, says Adly

Melaka Pakatan Harapan chairman Adly Zahari does not expect the controversy surrounding former prime minister Najib Razak’s house arrest arrangement and the payment of his RM50 million fine to cost the coalition voters in the Nov 14 state election.

Adly said the issue had attracted national attention but was unlikely to discourage PH supporters from voting.

“Even among PH supporters, their main concerns are issues involving governance, transparency and so on,” he told FMT.

Adly also said PH could not rely solely on votes from its own members and supporters to win the state election.

“We must win with the support of the people of Melaka,” he said.

The issue surrounding Najib became a talking point at the end of the first week of the campaign, following Umno’s announcement on Nov 6 that it had paid the fine imposed on the former prime minister in his SRC International case.

Najib was granted a conditional pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest, subject to paying the RM50 million fine.

After the fine was settled, the Attorney-General’s Chambers suggested deferring Najib’s house arrest pending a review of the conditional pardon and the related Order of Discharge from the High Court.

The AGC said the two issues involved “complex legal questions” with implications for the execution of the royal pardon and the court order.

PH and Barisan Nasional are contesting separately in the Melaka state election, despite being allies in the federal unity government.

BN has an electoral pact with the PAS-led Perikatan Nasional instead.