KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim need not resign over as demanded by the Opposition over the royal addendum order for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s home imprisonment, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said.
“Anwar should be allowed to complete his five-year term and enable the unity government to fully implement initiatives and policies planned to benefit the people.
“When the time for general elections comes, then the citizens will have the opportunity to assess the performance of the government over the previous five years,…and then decide whether a change in the leadership of the country is appropriate or otherwise.
“If Anwar fails to deliver a satisfactory performance, the people have the right to express their wishes through the ballot box,” Tiong said on Facebook.
The public should trust in the processes of the Pardons Board regarding the addendum order, and not try to disrupt the country “through rallies or similar measures”, Tiong added.
He also reminded all parties of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree for political stability following the formation of the unity government and urged for unity and resolution of disputes through dialogue.
“(Hold) dialogue and consultation rather than rush to push for changes in leadership,” Tiong said.
Calls for Anwar’s resignation were made by PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari after the Court of Appeal yesterday ruled to remit Najib’s bid for judicial review over the addendum order to the high court which had previously dismissed his application.
In submissions to the appellate court, Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had tendered as evidence of the addendum order’s existence a letter from the Pahang Royal Council confirming that the Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan ….. had ordered and signed the order on Jan 29, 2024.
This letter was dated Jan 4 and addressed to Najib’s son, Datuk Mohamad Nizar Najib, as supporting evidence to another piece of evidence – an unsigned copy of the addendum order – that Nizar submitted in an affidavit in Dec 2024.
Najib and his defence team have accused Anwar’s government of denying him justice by failing to execute the addendum order for him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence for corruption in the SRC International case under home imprisonment.
Yesterday, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim also defended Anwar from calls to resign, saying it is the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) that should explain its silence on the addendum order.
“This failure by the AGC should not be placed on Anwar’s shoulders, Hassan told Free Malaysia Today.
The PKR politician said Anwar was not in the wrong, and was in fact right to have avoided interfering with the AGC and judiciary.
The Court of Appeal’s decision yesterday was a 2-1 decision, with the concurring judges noting that the AGC had never disputed claims by Najib’s defence team on the addendum order. – January 7, 2025
