Court of Appeal reserves decision on Malaysian Bar's appeal over Najib's pardon

 

The Court of Appeal today reserved its decision on the Malaysian Bar's appeal against the High Court's refusal to grant leave to commence a judicial review challenging the Federal Territories Pardons Board's decision to reduce former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's prison sentence and fine in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

A three-member bench led by judge Lim Chong Fong reserved its decision after hearing submissions from counsel Yeo Yang Poh and Zainur Zakaria, for the Malaysian Bar, senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi, representing the attorney-general, and Najib’s lawyer, Shafee Abdullah.

"We need time to deliberate, and we have fixed Aug 7 for case management to set a date to deliver the decision," said Lim, who sat with Azhahari Kamal Ramli and Leonard David Shim.

In November 2024, the High Court dismissed the Malaysian Bar's application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings to quash the Pardons Board's decision.

Earlier, Yeo submitted that the Pardons Board's decision is justiciable.

"The judicial review application is not to review the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong but to challenge the decision of the Pardons Board. It is important for leave to be granted at this stage.

“We pray that the appeal be allowed and the case be remitted to the High Court for a substantive hearing," he said, adding that the matter brought upon by the appellant was not frivolous.

Hanir submitted that the High Court judge was correct in ruling that the application was non-justiciable and frivolous.

He said the prerogative of mercy under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution is not susceptible to judicial review.

"Therefore, the AG submits that if the decision to grant a pardon is not susceptible to judicial review, it follows that the process leading to it is also not susceptible to judicial review," he said. Shafee adopted Hanir's submissions.

Bar’s application

The Malaysian Bar had originally filed the application on April 26, 2024, naming the Pardons Board of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya, as well as Najib, as respondents.

It had sought a declaration that the Pardons Board's decision on Jan 29, 2024, to halve Najib's prison sentence, resulting in his early release on Aug 23, 2028, is illegal, unconstitutional and void.

It is also seeking a declaration that the Pardons Board's decision to reduce Najib's fine from RM210 million to RM50 million is similarly illegal, unconstitutional and void.

The reduction came with the condition that failure to settle the fine would extend his prison term by one year, pushing his early release to Aug 23, 2029.

Najib, 73, has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since Aug 23, 2022, after being convicted of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.

He filed a petition for a royal pardon on Sept 2, 2022, which resulted in the Pardons Board halving his prison sentence from 12 years to six years and reducing his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.

- Bernama