PUTRAJAYA, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department (BHEUU) clarified that it is tasked with coordinating Pardons Board meetings for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya.
BHEUU also reports directly to the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories), Dr. Zaliha Mustafa, as the responsible minister.
The establishment of the Pardons Board is based on Article 42(11) of the Federal Constitution, with Clauses (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9) applied mutatis mutandis, except that the reference to "Ruler or Governor" should be interpreted as "Yang di-Pertuan Agong".
Furthermore, the reference to "Chief Minister of the state" is changed to "the Minister responsible for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya"
"Therefore, it is confirmed that the Federal Territories Minister (Dr. Zaliha) is a member of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya," the statement read today.
BHEUU stated that Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), is not a member of the Pardons Board nor involved in any related matters.
Earlier in Dewan Rakyat today, Kota Bharu MP Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan from Perikatan Nasional (PN) called on the house to ask Azalina to clarify her Nov 6 statement, which he alleged was misleading.
The PN chief whip claimed that Azalina’s assertion—that issues regarding house detention legislation and the Addendum Order were not her responsibility as Law Minister but rather that of the Federal Territories Minister—was misleading.
Takiyuddin had also previously pointed out that a Feb 2 media statement from the Pardons Board was issued by the BHEUU secretariat.
His remarks were related to the decision by the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya to halve former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s prison sentence from 12 years to six years, and reduce the RM210 million fine imposed on him to RM50 million.
-- BERNAMA
