PUTRAJAYA: The minutes of the meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board concerning former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will not be disclosed to the public.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the matter was confidential and falls under the board's prerogative.
"The meeting minutes are confidential, so we cannot make them public. It is also solely the prerogative of the Pardons Board. Yes, the meeting minutes will not be disclosed," she said.
She told reporters this when met at the launching of the Sentuhan Madani kiosk at Alamanda Shopping Centre, here, today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who launched the event, and Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil were also present.
Yesterday, PKR leader Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin had called for the government to declassify the minutes of the Pardons Board meeting to stop accusations that the former King's decree to place Datuk Seri Najib Razak under house arrest had been ignored.
Shamsul said declassifying minutes of the meeting would also put an end to speculation and accusations against the government concerning the existence of an addendum from the meeting.
Najib, 71, has been imprisoned since Aug 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.
On Jan 29 last year, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, chaired by Al-Sultan Abdullah, halved Najib's 12-year jail sentence for abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the SRC International case and reduced his RM210 million fine to RM50 million.
Najib later filed an application on an alleged addendum order signed by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The addendum purportedly allowed Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest. Previously, the High Court had dismissed his application.
Several affidavits were also filed in support of Najib's application, including those by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
On July 3, the High Court ruled that the affidavits were hearsay.
However, the Court of Appeal earlier this week granted Najib leave for a judicial review of the existence of the addendum.