KUALA LUMPUR — Questions surrounding the deferment of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's royal pardon petition should be directed to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The minister for law and institutional reform said that she does not sit as the executive representative on the Federal Territories Pardons Board, noting that the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) under her purview functions strictly as the board's administrative secretariat, NST reported.

"BHEUU is under me, but for the Pardons Board in each state, BHEUU is the secretariat, while the minister and menteri besar of the respective state are the executive representatives on the board.

"Any questions about what happened, why it was deferred and the new date should be directed to the minister responsible, Hannah Yeoh. I have no information at all, so I cannot answer," she told reporters after attending the Program Kayuhan Fashionista: Bulan Kebangsaan Dua Sambutan Satu Jiwa at the Putrajaya Lake Promenade.

Azalina was responding to mounting demands from opposition leaders for the government to clarify why the board postponed deliberations on Najib's application.

Her remarks follow statements by PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who urged the government to issue an immediate explanation, contending that the decision was a matter of significant public interest and would not have occurred automatically.

BHEUU had earlier confirmed that the Federal Territories Pardons Board agreed to defer consideration of Najib's petition to a future sitting.