Only courts can draft orders in criminal matters, says Shafee

 The lawyer for former prime minister Najib Razak says lawyers have no authority to draft orders such as the Nov 6 order of discharge.

Earlier today, the High Court set aside its previous order discharging Najib Razak upon payment of a RM50 million fine and issued a new order allowing him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest.

KUALA LUMPUR:

Najib Razak’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah says only the courts have the authority to draft orders in criminal matters.

He was responding to political commentator Liyana Marzuki’s claim that his firm, Shafee & Co, was responsible for drafting the order of discharge issued following the payment of the RM50 million fine to allow Najib to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.

“In criminal matters, lawyers do not draft such orders. They are always drafted by the court,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

In her Facebook post on Nov 8, Liyana also criticised the typos and errors in the document. Shafee defended it, saying that his firm and the courts understood the contents of the order, with the exception of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

“From what I saw, the drafting was not bad except for a couple of typos. We understood it, the court understood it; only the AGC did not,” he said.

Earlier today, the High Court set aside its previous order discharging the former prime minister upon payment of a RM50 million fine and issued a new order allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest.

Justice Aslam Zainuddin made the ruling after hearing the AGC’s application for clarification concerning the “erroneous” Nov 6 order of discharge.

Najib was jailed in August 2022 after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving SRC funds worth RM42 million. He was subsequently sentenced to 12 years behind bars and fined RM210 million.

In January 2024, then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah halved Najib’s prison sentence and reduced his fine to RM50 million as part of a royal pardon.

The current Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a further conditional pardon in September this year, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, provided he paid the RM50 million fine and complied with other stipulated conditions. - FMT