Attorney-General (AG) Dusuki Mokhtar will know on April 28 whether he will obtain apex court leave to appeal to halt Najib Abdul Razak’s judicial review linked to an alleged royal addendum allowing him to be under house arrest.
The three-person Federal Court bench chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Mohammed Hashim today set the date after hearing oral submissions from Dusuki and the ex-prime minister’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
In the event that the apex court grants leave, it will on a separate date hear oral submissions on the merits of the AG’s appeal to halt Najib’s judicial review.
Earlier on Jan 6, the Court of Appeal granted leave for Najib to commence the judicial review to compel the home minister and the government to enforce the alleged supplementary decree by the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The addendum, signed by Pahang ruler Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, supposedly commutes Najib’s prison sentence to be served under house arrest.
Najib’s legal team claimed that the Pahang palace affirmed the existence of the addendum in a letter produced in court.
However, government lawyers argued that the addendum was not discussed during the last Pardons Board meeting chaired by Sultan Abdullah - which only decided to reduce Najib’s sentence to six years in prison and an RM50 million fine.
On Jan 29 last year, the board’s royal advice led to a decree to discount Najib’s initial 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine over an RM42 million corruption case linked to SRC International.
However, Najib claimed there was a supplementary royal decree allowing him to be under house arrest instead of serving time at Kajang Prison.
Najib’s judicial review is currently pending before the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
The High Court has also set April 28 to hear the AG’s application for a gag order to prevent media reporting and potentially prejudicial public discourse over Najib’s judicial review.
Questions of law
During today’s Federal Court hearing, Dusuki argued that the AG as the guardian of public interest was seeking leave to argue seven questions of law linked to Najib’s addendum action.
One of the legal questions was whether Najib as a judicial review applicant is allowed to introduce alleged fresh evidence that would have the legal effect of directly or indirectly challenging the Pardons Board decision.
Among the alleged fresh evidence Najib seeks to introduce is a purported letter from the Pahang palace confirming the existence of the purported royal addendum on house arrest.
Another alleged new evidence is an affidavit by Najib's son Nizar affirmed on Dec 2 last year, as well as a copy of the purported actual addendum order. - Mkini
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