THE Kuala Lumpur High Court must be convinced that the alleged addendum order reportedly issued by the former king exists before it decides to allow Datuk Seri Najib Razak to proceed with his judicial review application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, a prominent lawyer said.
Haniff Khatri Abdulla said before the court decides to allow the judicial review, it has to be convinced that the addendum order reportedly issued by former king Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah exists in the first place.
“It is not about whether the order is legitimate or not. The legitimacy of the order will come later when the court allows the judicial review to proceed. Now the court has to be convinced that the order exists,” said Haniff.
“If there are no other developments, the court may decide tomorrow to reject the bid for a judicial review or to allow it, which will be followed by a substantive hearing on a later date where parties will have to file related documents to the court.”
However, Haniff said there were other developments that occurred after April 17 (when the court fixed June 5 to give its decision).
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in an affidavit, claimed that the royal addendum from the former king does exist.
In the affidavit, the Umno president said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz showed him the document at his (Zahid’s) house at Country Heights on January 30.
Zahid said Tengku Zafrul showed him a copy of the addendum order on his (Tengku Zafrul’s) phone, which he allegedly personally photographed or scanned from an original copy as shown to him by the former king.
On April 22, Tengku Zafrul wrote to the high court seeking its permission to file an affidavit to correct “factual errors”.
The other development in the case occurred on May 27 when Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail filed an affidavit in support of Najib’s judicial review application.
In the five-page affidavit, Wan Rosdy claimed that he was told about the royal addendum order by Tengku Zafrul on January 30.
Haniff said the court may call both parties for further argument and there was a high possibility that there will be no decision on June 5 because of Wan Rosdy’s affidavit.
“Wan Rosdy’s affidavit needs to be heard before the court can decide on Najib’s application but the court could also allow the judicial review application without having to look at Wan Rosdy’s affidavit.
“Najib’s application for a judicial review can be postponed on June 5 because of Wan Rosdy’s affidavit.
“If the court is ready, then they will proceed with the application, but if the court is not ready, the decision may get postponed to another date,” Haniff added.
In February, the Pardons Board announced Najib’s jail sentence for corruption was reduced from 12 to six years. Najib, 70, has served less than two years of his prison term for his role in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.
With the jail term reduction, Najib is set to be released on August 23, 2028, the statement said.
The Pardons Board also reduced his RM210 million fine to RM50 million. But if the fine is not paid, one year will be added to Najib’s prison sentence and he will be released on August 23, 2029, the board added. – June 4, 2024.
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