AG makes first court appearance to argue on Najib’s addendum

 

Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar filed six legal questions to convince the Federal Court to hear the appeal and overturn the Jan 6 Court of Appeal majority ruling.

PUTRAJAYA: 

Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar will make a personal appearance in the Federal Court today, seeking leave to appeal against a lower court ruling allowing Najib Razak to pursue a judicial review in his bid to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.

This marks Dusuki’s first appearance in court since his appointment as attorney-general last November.

He will be assisted by senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, while lawyer Shafee Abdullah will represent Najib.

The leave application will be heard before a three-member bench chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Hashim and also comprising Justices Zabariah Yusof and Hanipah Farikullah.

In February, the attorney-general, as the custodian of public interest, also filed a certificate of urgency to expedite the hearing.

He has raised six legal questions in his bid to persuade the apex court to hear the merits of the appeal, aimed at setting aside the Jan 6 majority verdict by the Court of Appeal.

Under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, leave for appeal is granted only if novel constitutional or legal questions of public importance are raised for the first time.

In a statement, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said the application was made in view of differing interpretations of the law by the three-member Court of Appeal panel, which had resulted in a split decision.

The Court of Appeal granted Najib leave to begin judicial review proceedings to compel the government to execute a supplementary decree issued by former king Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Justices Firuz Jaffril and Azhahari Kamal Ramli held that the High Court’s finding that Najib’s affidavits were based on hearsay evidence could not stand following the new evidence adduced by the former Pekan MP.

They said that Najib had obtained a copy of the addendum from the Pahang ruler, who was the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, after the High Court hearing in July.

Justice Azizah Nawawi, who chaired the Court of Appeal bench, dissented, saying the High Court was correct in ruling that a mandamus order could not be granted against the pardons board.

Azizah said there was no legal provision that could make the board confirm or disclose any existence of a pardon order, including the addendum order. - FMT