April hearing for Najib’s house arrest bid

The High Court has set April 17 to hear Najib Razak’s bid to compel the government to produce a purported “supplementary order” issued by the former king allowing the ex-prime minister to serve his sentence under house arrest.

(FMT) – Lawyer Shafee Abdullah informed Justice Amarjeet Singh that Najib wished to secure an additional affidavit to support his application.

However, he said the deponent of the intended affidavit was not in Malaysia, and would only return after Hari Raya.

Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly requested that the lawyers serve the affidavit in advance of the hearing date.

Najib claimed that the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, had issued a “supplementary decree” during the Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting on Jan 29, one day before the end of his reign as monarch.

On Feb 2, the board announced that the 12-year prison sentence in Najib’s SRC International case had been reduced to six, while his fine of RM210 million was lowered to RM50 million.

No mention was made of any part of the term being converted into house arrest.

Najib, who is currently serving his sentence at Kajang prison, is scheduled for release on Aug 23, 2028.

The former prime minister wants to compel the government to execute the purported supplementary decree allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

The court today also rejected the Malaysian Bar’s application to hold a watching brief in the case.

Amarjeet said that the Bar, represented by Abhilaash Subramaniam, could return to the court if the former prime minister was allowed to pursue his legal challenge.