KUALA LUMPUR: Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu has called for legislation to allow all convicts to serve half their prison sentences under house arrest, saying justice cannot be the “exclusive right of certain groups”.
The Kota Raja MP and Amanah president said he was prepared to donate his entire ministerial salary for the remainder of the current parliamentary term to fund non-governmental organisations campaigning for such a law.
Mohamad stressed that his position was not driven by any personal grievance involving former prime minister Najib Razak.
“The principle of equality before the law must not be compromised on the basis of position, political influence or family ties. The law must be fair to all. Malaysia cannot practise a two-tiered justice system,” he said in a statement.
The High Court yesterday ordered that Najib serve the rest of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.
Najib was jailed in August 2022 after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million in SRC International funds. He received a 12-year jail term and a RM210 million fine.
In January 2024, then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah halved the prison sentence and reduced the fine to RM50 million. In September this year, the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, granted a further conditional pardon allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, subject to payment of the RM50 million fine and other conditions.