The Pardons Board’s decisions to commute former prime minister Najib Razak’s jail term from 12 years to six and his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million must be debated in the Dewan Rakyat.

While the people are glad that Najib didn’t get a pardon, Opposition MPs must question Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the reason or reasons for bringing this case before the Pardons Board when Najib had completed only a year of his jail term. Shouldn’t the government have waited for a few more years or followed the convention of letting the felon serve at least one third of his/her jail term before applying for a pardon?

Conventions are useful to facilitate the smooth execution of justice when the law doesn’t spell it out. Why was it abandoned in this case?

A one-year fulfilment of a jail term may be too soon for a review for a pardon but a few years of serving a jail term would satisfy the need for retribution before consideration for a pardon. Such conventions should be followed and entrenched and not dismissed for the sake of political expediency unless for exceptional urgent national interests which the Najib case isn’t!

For the billions of Malaysian ringgit that Najib was supposed to be involved in, a RM210 million fine is a paltry sum. What was the point of making it easier for him to pay his fine by reducing it by nearly 75% when the Anwar government is on a witch-hunt to target very rich businessmen/women in order — it is alleged — to return “the billions they stole from the government”?

The motive behind the board’s move isn’t clear and in the absence of clarity appears unnecessary. There’s no pardon and Najib will only be released in 2028, so what was the purpose of the board’s decision now. What prompted it?

The people have a right to know why Najib’s application for a pardon was forwarded now and the only people who can expose this seeming farce are the MPs, particularly Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs.

Not only must PN MPs raise this issue in the Dewan Rakyat, but they must raise all other issues to expose the unity government’s motives and especially to ascertain if these motives are aimed at upholding the federal constitution or compromising it.

Right now PN MPs stick to bread and butter issues in Parliament. They must now advance to constitutional issues to ensure that the government is adhering to the democratic principles on which our parliamentary system of government is formed.

This is the only way the people will know whether Anwar’s unity government is legitimate or not or corruption-free. And it will be through this way that PN will gain more support from the people.

Whether it involves the MACC, the Pardons Board, the Attorney-General or constitutional monarchy, PN MPs must lead the debates to expose the government’s hidden or private agendas.

PN MPs can no longer sit back passively and wait for the chance to speak up or act. They are fully aware what the unity government is up to and they can’t be silent anymore. They must reveal what this government is not saying or doing.

When they raise these issues in the Dewan Rakyat and generate enough discussion on them, it may encourage the disgruntled government MPs to do the same to show their supporters that they are on the side of the people.

This can only work to PN’s advantage. It is time for PN to stop sitting around and waiting for things to happen and, instead, go on the offensive. This unity government provides sufficient ammunition to backfire on them.