Bar’s challenge to Najib’s sentence reduction faces Jan 7 court test

THE Court of Appeal will decide on Jan 7 whether the Malaysian Bar can clear the legal hurdle to have its challenge to the Federal Territories Pardons Board’s decision reducing Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s prison sentence and fine heard on its merits.

The ruling concerns the Bar’s appeal against the High Court’s refusal to grant leave for a judicial review, meaning the appellate court is not being asked at this stage to determine whether the Pardons Board’s decision was lawful or constitutional.

Instead, the issue before the three-member panel is whether the Bar should be allowed to proceed with a substantive challenge to the board’s Jan 29, 2024 decision, which halved Najib’s 12-year prison sentence to six years and reduced his RM210 million fine to RM50 million.

Lawyer Zainur Zakaria, who represents the Malaysian Bar, confirmed the date to Bernama.

The panel comprising Datuk Lim Chong Fong, Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli and Datuk Leonard David Shim heard the appeal on July 31 before reserving its decision.

The appeal followed the High Court’s dismissal in November 2024 of the Bar’s application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the Pardons Board’s decision.

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

It is seeking declarations that the board’s decision to reduce Najib’s prison sentence, resulting in an earlier release date of Aug 23, 2028, was unlawful, unconstitutional and void.

The Bar is also challenging the reduction of Najib’s fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.

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.

The Federal Court upheld his conviction and 12-year sentence in August 2022, while his subsequent application to review the conviction and sentence was dismissed in March 2023.

The High Court had ruled that the Bar’s challenge was non-justiciable and frivolous, finding that the exercise of the prerogative of mercy under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution was ultimately a matter for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Bar has appealed that finding. - September 22, 2026