A Aziz Azizam of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) said it was also wrong of Akmal to do so while speaking up on the issue of a pardon and bid for “house arrest” for former prime minister Najib Razak.
He said as a key Umno leader, Akmal should exercise caution when addressing such matters, as his remarks reflect the party’s stance on cooperation.
Aziz added that while differing opinions are common in any alliance, Akmal’s remarks could have repercussions on the fragile relationship between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“As a key young leader in Umno, he needs to be more discerning in evaluating issues, as it reflects the party’s commitment to its role in government,” Aziz told FMT.
He said Akmal’s comparison of Anwar and Najib was also not balanced, noting that Anwar had already served over six years of his prison sentence whereas Najib’s jail term was still ongoing.
“He (Akmal) is not qualified to question the integrity of the country’s legal system, while the comparison he made is not balanced,” he said.
Aziz added that the pardon process follows a strict procedure that cannot be changed or tampered with.
He also said that the party should focus on upholding its ideological commitments, as “Umno is not a party to free a convict”.
On Dec 28 last year, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said that all proposals for prisoners in the federal territories to serve the remainder of their sentence under house arrest, including Najib, have to be submitted to the Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB)
The AGC also said in its statement: “Decisions made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Pardons Board are subject to applicable legal provisions to prevent such actions from being challenged in court for being unlawful.”
On the same day, Akmal questioned whether Anwar’s 2018 pardon had been submitted to the Federal Territory Pardons Board.
This prompted a response from PKR youth chief Adam Adli, who reminded Akmal that the Court of Appeal had dismissed a lawsuit in 2021 challenging the legality of Anwar’s pardon.
Najib is currently serving a six-year jail sentence in Kajang prison on corruption charges in the SRC International case.
This follows the decision by the FTPB, in a meeting chaired by the then Yang diPertuan Agong on Feb 2, 2023, to reduce Najib’s original 12-year prison term to six years, and also his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
On Jan 6, the Court of Appeal will hear Najib’s application for leave to adduce fresh evidence in his appeal to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest, which he claims was issued in a supplementary order to the Feb 2 announcement.
Najib previously said the pardons board had omitted announcing the terms of the supplementary order, and that the government was in contempt for not complying with it.