KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 26): Any process involving the pardon of an offender must be adhered to by all parties, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

Fahmi, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) communications director, said this is because any case involving the pardon of an offender has a specific process.

“Generally, any case involving a pardon has its process, and we adhere to and follow that process. Apart from that, I think the focus should be on the process itself. That is the priority,” he said.

He told reporters this after attending the “Pentarama and Kelab Malaysiaku” programme, in conjunction with the 2024 National Month celebration at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Pantai here on Monday.

At the recent 2024 Umno General Assembly, several delegates proposed a motion for the release of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is currently serving the remainder of his prison sentence until August 2028.

Regarding an allegation by Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh about inadequate telecommunication coverage at the World Trade Centre (WTC) during the recent Umno General Assembly, Fahmi said the issue might be due to technical problems involving "in-building” coverage at WTC.

He suggested that the Umno Youth chief contact the WTC management, led by its managing director Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim, to address the issue.

“The problem is in-building coverage, which is different from issues outside... The issue might be that there were many people at a particular time (at WTC), and it’s a similar problem when a stadium is full, for example. So, this is something we need to look into,” he said.

Regarding Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) plan to challenge the victory of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, who is also Kelantan Umno Youth chief, in the recent Nenggiri state by-election, Fahmi described PN as still not having “moved on” from their defeat.

“If they (PN) cannot ‘move on’, follow the (legal) process; looks like the Bersatu president (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) is still unable to ‘move on’,” he said.

Media reports said that PN is gathering evidence to file an election petition to challenge BN’s victory in the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan.

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