KUALA LUMPUR: The Pardons Board's recent announcement reducing Datuk Seri Najib Razak's sentences has sparked calls for reform in Malaysia's institutions, specifically the Pardons Board itself.
Malaysian Bar president Karen Cheah Yee Lynn said that to prevent the influence of the Executive and ensure independence in the pardons process, the government's role in the Pardons Board should be reduced, if not " completely eliminated".
"To this end, an amendment is required to remove the influence of the Attorney General and the Federal Territories Minister or Chief Ministers of States in the Pardons Board and to appoint independent persons to the Pardons Board to ensure inclusivity in terms of expressions from the public," she said in a statement.
Cheah said a further reform to the Pardons Board would be to introduce safeguards that ensure such power is exercised sparingly as well as within clear boundaries and established circumstances or categories.
"Remorse and repentance surely must be a substantial part of such an exercise. To date, after having served one year and five months in prison, Najib has yet to show remorse, any form of repentance, nor apology for committing the offences of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering, for which he was convicted.
"The Malaysian Bar unequivocally insists that the deterioration of due process cannot go unchecked and unimpeded.
"It is alarming that this announcement by the Pardons Board comes in relatively close succession with another controversial high-profile case, namely Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's discharge not amounting to an acquittal in the Yayasan Akalbudi case," Cheah said.
The Malaysian Bar, she said, could not stress enough that a similar discharge must not recur for Najib's ongoing 1MDB prosecution and two other ongoing cases.
Failing which, Cheah warned, it would render the government's efforts to combat corruption hollow and meaningless, and it would send the message that political power holds the rule of law in shackles.
"The Pardons Board's announcement on Feb 2 through the media statement has thrown light, on a large scale, on the opaqueness of the entire pardons process and is indeed the clarion call needed to push for reforms to the Pardons Board and its processes.
"While it is true that justice must be tempered with mercy, it is also true that mercy must not rob justice."
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive officer Dr Tricia Yeoh was reportedly saying that the Federal Territories Pardons Board's decision last week to halve Najib's jail time from 12 to six years and reduce his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million signals that abuse of power and misappropriation of public funds are easily forgiven.
Reforms group CSO Platform for Reform had expressed concerns over the Federal Territories Pardon Board's lack of transparency surrounding the lesser sentence and fine granted to Najib.