Najib fails to obtain leave to challenge addendum order over house arrest

KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Seri Najib Razak has failed in his bid to obtain leave from the High Court to challenge the existence of an addendum order, purportedly issued with the consent of the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, allowing the former prime minister to serve the remaining six years of his prison sentence under house arrest.

Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh dismissed Najib's leave application to initiate a judicial review after finding all the affidavits filed in support of Najib's application including the affidavit filed by the Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and vice-president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail were hearsays.

"In Zahid's affidavit, he said he was informed by Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (Investment, Trade and Industry Minister) of the existence of the addendum order and Tengku Zafrul told him that His Majesty had shown him the order and that Tengku Zafrul had also taken a photograph of the order.

"Zahid said that he saw the photograph of the addendum order in Tengku Zafrul's phone, purportedly carrying the signature of His Majesty. The averments of Zahid were also pure hearsay as the source of the information and his belief was Tengku Zafrul. Zahid himself has no knowledge of the addendum order except what he heard from Tengku Zafrul," said the judge in his broad judgment.

Justice Amarjeet said Wan Rosdy's affidavit also stated that his source of information with regard to the addendum order is Tengku Zafrul, thus, the averments made by Wan Rosdy are also hearsay.

On the two affidavits filed by Najib, Justice Amarjeet said both affidavits just contained bare statements without mentioning the source and his belief of the order.

"I find that both affidavits are at the highest, pure hearsay. Apart from that, the applicant (Najib) had averred that his solicitors had written to the respondents concerning the same without receiving a reply.

"Najib had relied on the source, which is Tengku Zafrul, but the source did not affirm an affidavit. Tengku Zafrul had attempted to file an affidavit but this court denied him as the law does not allow him to do so at the leave stage,” he said.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly appeared for the respondents while Najib's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the court that they would file an appeal against today’s decision.

Najib, 70, in his leave application for judicial review filed last April, named Home Minister, Commissioner-General of Prisons, Attorney-General, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) (Law and Institutional Reform), Director-General of Legal Affairs Division at JPM and the Malaysian Government as the first to the seventh respondents.

The former Pekan Member of Parliament is seeking a mandamus order to compel either all or one of the respondents to respond and confirm the existence of the additional decree dated Jan 29, 2024.

He is also seeking a mandamus order that if the additional decree exists, all or one of the respondents must enforce it immediately by transferring him from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur for him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

Najib has been serving his sentence in Kajang Prison since Aug 23, 2022, after being convicted of embezzling RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.

On Sept 2, 2022, he filed a petition for a royal pardon. The Pardon Board reduced Najib's prison sentence from 12 years to six years, while the fine was reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million. - BERNAMA