Mother of murder convict Sirul Azhar Umar, Piah Samat, is likely to apply for clemency on behalf of her son to the Sultan of Selangor. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 12, 2015.
Emboldened by her meeting with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad last week, the mother of murder convict Sirul Azhar Umar will likely file for pardon on behalf of her son, a lawmaker said.
PAS MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar said he would guide Piah Samat on applying for clemency on behalf of her son to the Sultan of Selangor.
“I will counsel her and the family members to do the needful as soon as possible like what was done on behalf of Anwar," he told The Malaysian Insider.
PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah had filed a petition for pardon to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on behalf of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was convicted of sodomy in February.
However, three weeks later, the board in a letter dated March 16, disposed of the application and said Anwar must serve the five-year jail term upheld by the Federal Court.
Meanwhile, former attorney-general Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said there was no specific procedure in the Federal Constitution and in the rules as to who could apply for pardon.
"Ideally, it should be the accused who has been convicted. There is also no law that states that only those in Malaysian custody can file an application for pardon," he said.
Sirul is being held at the Villawood immigration centre in Sydney after his arrest in Queensland on January 20, following a red alert issued by Interpol.
Talib, who was the A-G between 1980 and 1993, said whether a pardon application was approved or rejected was entirely up to the ruler of the state where the crime was committed.
"It is the prerogative of the ruler to grant the pardon in the name of mercy after acting on the advice of the board," he said.
In a previous interview, Talib had said Sirul should "tell all" to the Selangor Pardons Board to avoid the gallows.
He said nothing would change if Sirul decided to talk now since the judicial process was completed.
He said Sirul's lawyers could write to the Sultan of Selangor, who is the board chairman, and send a copy to the menteri besar who is member of the organisation.
“The board can consider any relevant matter in coming to a just decision as to whether the death sentence should be executed," he added.
On Wednesday, Piah, accompanied by a relative, Mahfuz and sacked Umno member Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan, met Dr Mahathir in Putrajaya.
The meeting comes after Dr Mahathir’s blog post against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over his refusal to answer questions, including those surrounding the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Piah, in earlier interviews, had said her son had acted on orders from higher up and was paying the price for his actions now.
Sirul and Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri were initially found guilty of the 2006 murder of Altantuya, but got their conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2013.
However, in January, a five-man Federal Court bench led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria set aside the appellate court’s ruling and sentenced the men to death by hanging.
Former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a confidante of Najib, was charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul but was acquitted by the High Court in 2008 without his defence being called.
The government did not appeal his acquittal. Despite the conviction, the motive for the murder of Altantuya was never revealed.
Evidence in court revealed that Altantuya was murdered before the body was blown up by C4 explosives on October 18, 2006, in the outskirts of Shah Alam, near the capital city Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Mahathir has been harping on this and last week, in a blog post, said it would be cruel to hang Sirul if he had followed orders to kill the Mongolian.
“The public is wondering who gave Sirul the order,” he said.
On Thursday, Najib who was interviewed by Umno-controlled TV3 in response to accusations by Dr Mahathir against his administration over various issues, including Altantuya’s murder, said he never knew or met the murdered woman.
He said police had conducted investigations and also verified that he was not involved in the case.
In a recent interview with bloggers, Dr Mahathir said he only wanted to help Sirul who was his former bodyguard despite public perception that he was exploiting the matter to gain political mileage.
"I did not talk about this for a long time but those two (Sirul and Azilah) are facing the death penalty. You have to help them and save them.”
Australia signed an extradition treaty with Malaysia in 2006 but is unlikely to deport Sirul, as Australian laws prohibit convicts on death penalty to be extradited back to their country.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Sirul’s extradition process was delayed because it involved “complicated legal issues”.
Sirul’s lawyer Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin had also revealed that the Attorney-General’s Chambers has yet to commence an extradition request with Canberra.
- TMI
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