Najib Abdul Razak's lawyer has given Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin until 12pm tomorrow to respond to their appeal for the Pekan MP to attend Parliament.
Otherwise, the former prime minister's legal team would file a legal action to allow the lawmaker to do so.
Najib's lead defence counsel this afternoon revealed that the Prison Department last week did not allow his bid to attend the Dewan Rakyat sitting, which resumed today.
Earlier during the Dewan Rakyat session today, Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun said Najib can attend the sitting if Prison authorities allow it.
During a media conference at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex, Shafee claimed that the Prison director-general (whose name was not mentioned) did not allow Najib to attend the Dewan Rakyat on grounds of security.
The lawyer said that the issue of security is a bit “odd” because Parliament is the most secure building when compared even to the court complex where Najib was brought in order to attend his ongoing court cases.
Shafee remarked that the Prison authorities did not raise the issue of security when Najib was brought to the hospital (believed to be in reference to the previous visit to Kuala Lumpur Hospital and later to the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital).
The lawyer claimed that he had written to Azhar, who confirmed that Najib is still Pekan MP due to his (Najib) two ongoing legal applications.
Shafee said one is for a separate apex court panel to review his conviction and 12-year jail sentence for the RM42 million SRC International corruption case, and the second one is a bid before the Pardons Board for a royal pardon in the graft case.
Najib can’t serve constituents
The lawyer said that they had written to Hamzah to appeal against the Prison authorities’ decision and that if they do not hear anything or get an unfavourable reply from the minister by 12pm tomorrow, then a judicial review would be filed.
Shafee said if a judicial review is filed, then it would be the first of such legal action in Malaysia as it could allow any lawmaker who has been convicted and sentenced but still has other related pending due processes (such as a review bid before the apex court or an application before the Pardons Board) to continue to serve his or her constituency as a lawmaker.
The lawyer said that this is crucial as Najib was not able to properly represent his constituency by raising their concerns at Parliament, adding that the lawmaker’s political aide was not even allowed to see him at Kajang Prison or even at the court complex.
“We have told the Prisons (authority) that his (Najib) political aide should be allowed to visit him so the people in his constituency can be served, otherwise his constituents could not be served.
“Once in a while, he as MP should be allowed to be escorted (by Prison authorities) to his constituency to hear grouses of the people there and speak with his aide on whether there are any problems (in the Pekan constituency),” Shafee said on what the proposed judicial review would seek if filed.
Shafee pointed out however that at the moment, the most pressing thing was for Najib to be allowed to attend Parliament, while suggesting that the Prison authorities and the august house could work out an arrangement to ensure the best security while the accused partake in Dewan Rakyat proceedings.
Earlier today, Najib was attending his RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial, and court proceedings before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah would resume tomorrow morning. - Mkini
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