PETALING JAYA: The High Court has held that the granting of pardon to convicts in Malaysia is not the exclusive right of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but an exercise of executive power by the monarch on advice.

Judge Akhtar Tahir said this principle was recognised in the Supreme Court case of Superintendent of Pudu Prison vs Sim Kie Chon (1986).
“However, in the same case, the ruling that the granting of pardon is a ‘royal prerogative of mercy’ is erroneous,” Akhtar said in a written judgment.

Last month, the judge refused an application by the government and Anwar Ibrahim to strike out a lawsuit filed against them by lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz over Anwar’s pardon in 2018.


In his 16-page judgment, Akhtar said the King’s exercise of discretion on the appointment of the prime minister might not be justiciable (challenged in the court).

“However, on matters of pardon, where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong acts on advice of the Pardons Board (and) the attorney-general (AG), this power is justiciable,” he said.

Akhtar said the granting of clemency in Malaysia could not be equated to that of England.

“The granting of pardon cannot be ruled as not justiciable just because it is exercised by the august and high office of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he said, adding it would be a dereliction of duty by the court under the Federal Constitution for refusing to hear the matter.


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RAWANG: The Selangor government prevented fresh water disruptions by taking prompt action against pollution in two cases affecting the river basins of Sungai Selangor and Sungai Langat yesterday.

State executive councillor Hee Loy Sian said these two cases could have halted the operations of water treatment plants if the Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) and other agencies had not acted quickly.

He said one of the incidents involved the detection of odour pollution in Sungai Kundang, with a reading of 10 threshold odour number (TON) at 10.45am yesterday.


LUAS officers went to the area and found biodiesel materials in the river, he said.

Further investigations by LUAS and Air Selangor identified a company, operating in the Kundang Jaya industrial area, as the possible source.
LUAS issued a warning letter under Section 121(1) of the LUAS Enactment 1999 to the company to immediately halt effluent discharge and carry out cleaning activities.

He said LUAS used 300kg of activated carbon to contain the odour pollution. Samples were also taken from three locations along the river and sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis and further action.

Hee said the other incident involved a diesel oil spill in Tasik Putrajaya at about 9.35am yesterday, after a skid tank pipe burst underneath the National Cancer Institute (NCI).


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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — PKR’s decision to respect Umno over its backing of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has drawn the ire of its long-time ally DAP.

Malaysiakini reported its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as saying that DAP has made it clear to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that cooperating with Umno is out of the question.

“We have fought with Umno. During the Sabah elections, in Kota Kinabalu, I have already said we will not work with Umno under its leaders Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak,” he was quoted as saying.

Lim added that it would make no sense to work with Umno, seeing as how DAP fought against them in the 2018 general election and in unity with its allies out of a desire to remove the then kleptocratic Barisan Nasional (BN) government.


Referring to PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s statement on Wednesday regarding PKR respecting Umno’s stance, the Bagan MP said it implied that PKR is willing to cooperate with Umno.

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PETALING JAYA: Several MPs from Umno are working with PPBM leaders on the possibility of holding a snap general election, according to people with knowledge of the talks.

They told FMT the election was among the moves being considered as the way forward after Umno’s declaration of a ceasefire in its quarrel with PPBM.

They said the two sides were looking at having the polls after significant drops in Covid-19 cases.

“The plan is to limit ceramahs and go big on television, radio and social media,” said one source. “The opposition will have a good reach in urban areas through social media but we will give them a fight in rural areas, where we connect better with voters.”


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Kudos to Akhbar Satar, the former president of Transparency International Malaysia, for once again calling out our politicians for their corrupt behaviour [Leaders must have intellectual honesty and sincerity.] It is not hard to understand his concerns given that corruption of all kinds is now blatant, persistent and pervasive. Political corruption, in particular, has become especially ruinous.

Indeed, every time we think we’ve seen it all, dishonourable politicians find a way to take unethical behaviour to new heights, find new ways to give expression to their greed and lust for power and profit. In the process, they have tainted our national institutions and made a mockery of our democracy.

A deadly pandemic stalks the land; thousands have lost their jobs; people are experiencing real pain and hardship and our politicians can only think of themselves, their ambitions, their agendas, their perks. 

They have rewarded themselves with more cabinet positions than any other government in history. They’ve appointed themselves to more high-paying sinecures in GLCs than any previous administration. They have salaries that most hard-working Malaysians cannot even dream of in addition to duty-free cars and expense accounts. Many of them enjoy lives of unimaginable luxury with holiday homes abroad and garages full of expensive vehicles. Their bank accounts are so bloated that RM2 million is but “loose change” to them. If a law was passed today forbidding anyone with more than RM50 million from holding political office, many seats in parliament would no doubt have to be vacated.

But even all that is not enough to persuade them to put aside their ambitions for once and start serving the people. Their lust for power is pushing the nation closer and closer to the abyss. They are not fighting over ideology or policy nor for principle or some noble cause; it’s just a mad scramble for power.

Of course, they go on and on about “saving” the nation and “ serving” the people and wax eloquent about “bangsa, agama dan negara” but who are they kidding? They are so disconnected from the lives of ordinary Malaysians that they are incapable of hearing the cries of distressed citizens or empathising with their plight. The politicians have become the problem; the question many are asking these days is who will save us from them? If only we could do what Italian voters did recently — sack half the members of parliament and demand greater accountability from the rest of them.


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(CNN)On Tuesday, President Donald Trump taped a town hall with Sinclair Broadcasting Group's Eric Bolling. In it, Bolling asked the President a simple question -- and the answer Trump gave is hugely revealing.

Bolling: "With Covid, is there anything that you think you could have done differently, if you had a mulligan or a do-over on one aspect of the way you handled it, what would it be?"

Trump: "Not much."

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(CNN)Barack Obama, in a moment of catharsis that doubled as a warning against Democratic complacency, blasted President Donald Trump in a speech dripping with ridicule ahead of Thursday's crucial debate -- perhaps the President's last chance to turn around his campaign.

The former President on Wednesday released four years of pent-up frustration in a scathing Philadelphia appearance that is likely to further irk an already irritable commander-in-chief ahead of his showdown with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. The debate in Nashville, Tennessee, comes at a fateful moment in the White House race as fresh polls emphasize the task Trump faces in pulling off another shock election triumph in 12 days.

In a new CNN/SSRS survey, Biden leads comfortably in Pennsylvania, potentially the decisive swing state, with a clear path to 270 electoral votes if he converts leads in Wisconsin and Michigan into wins. That leaves Trump needing the kind of late surge that took him to a stunning 2016 victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. It also means his clash with Biden, already crucial given that their second debate was canceled after his Covid-19 diagnosis, could be a final opportunity to shake up the race.

But with a staggering 40 million early votes cast, the capacity of either candidate to change the dynamics of the election is becoming increasingly limited. As he geared up for the debate, Trump slammed the whole exercise as unfair, resentful about at a plan to periodically mute the candidates' mics designed to limit his belligerent interruptions and baselessly accusing moderator Kristen Welker of NBC of bias.
He is likely to have been especially infuriated by Obama's mockery and forensic dismissal of his record given his contempt for, and obsession with, the former President. Obama's appearance on the eve of a debate in which Trump's hair-trigger temper will be sorely tested was probably not a coincidence.


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PETALING JAYA: The uproar rages over “No Further Action” (NFA) against Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali who breached mandatory home quarantine upon his return from abroad.

The decision to classify the case as NFA after more than 100 days of police investigations was made by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

Reason: A health ministry officer failed to issue Khairuddin a 14-day home quarantine order on his return from Turkey in July.


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