January 21, 2025
Kuala Lumpur – Will the six-year jail term faced by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak be changed to house arrest?
I posed this question to several artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
Gemini (formerly Bud): “I can't help answer questions about elections and politicians right now. I'm trained to be as accurate as possible, but sometimes I make mistakes. As I work to improve the way elections and politics are discussed , you can try a Google search.
ChatGPT: “As of now, there is no official confirmation whether former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will be released from prison or transferred to house arrest. However, legal proceedings and appeals regarding his corruption and money laundering charges in the 1MDB scandal are still ongoing.
“Possible legal action has been discussed in recent months, including efforts to review or modify his sentence, but any decision will be subject to the judicial process.”
Well, artificial intelligence’s answer is less than satisfying.
So I asked Najib insiders if the former prime minister would be allowed to serve out the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
But before I share his response, let me review the controversy:
On January 29, 2024, the Pardon Committee chaired by the then Head of State of Pahang Sultan Yangdi granted Najib a partial pardon. The pardon was granted a day before the end of the Sultan of Pahang's reign as the 16th king of Malaysia. The committee halved Najib's sentence from 12 years to six years and reduced the fine from RM210 million to RM50 million, or he would have been jailed for another year.
Sounds clear.
But things got confusing when the court received a document stating the existence of a royal addendum that reportedly replaced Najib's reduced sentence with house arrest. The question now is whether the addendum has the force of law, since it was apparently issued without the involvement of the Pardons Board.
Najib insiders, relying on his legal understanding of the issue, argue that His Majesty has no legal obligation to make or finalize his decision at a pardon committee meeting.
“His Majesty retains the discretion to take more time or even change the decision afterwards,” he said.
“Importantly, this decision ultimately reflects his independent judgment and is consistent with the advice provided by the Pardons Board as outlined in the Federal Constitution.”
What about the confusion over whether Malaysia’s legal system actually allows for house arrest?
People familiar with the matter quoted Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Mohamed Shafi Abdullah speaking on the Trick Lama podcast: Mohamed Shafi revealed that his former client Kenneth Lee Fook Mun was sentenced 24 years ago He received a similar addendum for the murder of Linda Lee Good Yew.
Kenneth, the grandson of former Finance Minister Tun Lee, was initially sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after receiving a royal pardon from the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“After Kenneth's mother died, his father became unwell and had no one to care for him. The final order was to house arrest,” Mohammad Shafi said on the podcast.
“It is therefore known that he is the recipient of a similar supplementary order and that he serves the remainder of his incarceration at home.”
Najib insiders believe Bosku (Najib's given name) will be released from Kajang Prison and transferred to house arrest.
Those of me who dislike Najib and are using the court cases between Najib and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as a reason not to vote for BN in the 2022 general election (15th general election) Political contacts on the grounds are adamant that the former prime minister will remain in prison until the end of his term.
“No way,” they told me.
“But what would you have done if it had happened? You remained silent when the Attorney-General’s Chambers successfully asked the court to grant a DNAA (DNAA) in Zahid’s corruption case.
On September 4, 2023, the prosecution suspended the Yayasan Akalbudi trial, resulting in the High Court granting a DNAA to the deputy prime minister on all 47 corruption charges he faced.
Contacts told me that although they fought against corruption in the 15th general election, there was nothing they and their party could do against DNAA because they were in government with the party and leaders they had been opposing.
“This is not our government. This is a coalition government, so we have to follow the demands of other coalitions,” they said.
“But Najib's house arrest is a red line in our political sand.”
“If Najib is allowed to remain under house arrest, will Pakatan Harapan withdraw from the coalition government?” I asked Gemini.
“I can't respond right now about the election and politicians. While I would never knowingly share something that is inaccurate, I can make mistakes,” Gemini responded.
Safe answers from chatbots. But you and I don’t need artificial intelligence to tell us the answers we already know, do we?
