KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s legal challenge for the government to produce a royal supplementary order allowing him to serve his remaining prison sentence under house arrest has generated much public furore.
Tensions were heightened further as court proceedings in chambers led to the reveal of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s affidavit supporting Najib’s bid and confirming such an order.
As events unfold and more questions are raised, Scoop attempts to unravel what has happened so far.
January 29: Did the Pardons Board meeting include the royal addendum order?
On January 29, the Pardons Board held a meeting at the Istana Negara, amid swirling rumours on whether or not the board would grant Najib’s request for a royal pardon.
The meeting, which was confirmed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa, is believed to have been the last official meeting for the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sulltan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, before his reign ended the following day.
According to Zahid’s affidavit filed on April 9, the addendum order bearing the royal signature and the signature of the then-king was also dated January 29.
The Umno president added that the addendum order forms part of Najib’s pardon process and is supplementary to the main royal order also issued on January 29.
January 30: Bombshell dropped during meeting in Kajang?
A meeting took place in Zahid’s Country Heights, Kajang home on January 30 with International Trade and Investment Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
As detailed in his affidavit, Zahid asserted that this is when he was informed by Tengku Zafrul of the existence of the addendum order.
Tengku Zafrul, Zahid said, had shown him a copy of the addendum order the Umno Supreme Council member had “personally photographed/scanned” from the original document as shown to him by Al-Sultan Abdullah.
February 2: No mention of the addendum order in Pardons Board secretariats’ announcement on Najib’s reduced sentence
On February 2, the Pardon Board’s secretariat for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, under the legal division of the Prime Minister’s Department, announced a lighter prison sentence and fine for Najib.
With his 12-year imprisonment term halved to six, Najib is now scheduled to be freed on August 23, 2028. Meanwhile, his RM210 million fine was reduced to RM50 million.
However, if the fine is not paid, the period of imprisonment will be increased by another year to August 23, 2029.
While the statement by the board’s secretariat confirmed that the then Agong chaired the January 29 meeting in his capacity as the king, it did not mention a royal addendum order – causing the next turn of events to shock the public.
March 2: Was Najib a factor in Putrajaya’s proposal for prisoners to undergo house arrest?
As public shock over the Pardons Board decision to reduce Najib’s jail sentence and fine swept through the country, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that Putrajaya had agreed in principle to consider home detention for prisoners serving jail sentences of four years and below.
Saifuddin said then that his ministry was currently in the process of examining the Licensed Release of Prisoners from a legal viewpoint to see if it was sufficient to amend existing laws or if there was a need to establish new legislation.
Following veiled questions over whether the government was considering the move due to Najib’s circumstances, Saifuddin had assured that Najib would not be an applicable candidate.
April 1: Where is the addendum order for my house arrest? Najib initiates legal challenge against government
In an application filed on April 1 via Messrs Shafee & Co, Najib commenced his bid for a judicial review compelling the government to confirm the existence of a royal addendum order allowing him to serve the remaining four years of his prison sentence under house arrest.
His application named as respondents the home minister, the commissioner-general of the Prisons Department, the attorney-general, the Federal Territories’ Pardons Board, and the government.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) and the director-general of the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department were also listed as respondents.
In requesting for the respondents to confirm the addendum order’s existence, Najib argued that if the document exists, the respondents’ failure to execute the order could be constituted as a direct contempt of the royal institution and an infringement of his basic rights as enshrined under the Federal Constitution.
April 4: House arrest bid postponed as ‘critical witness’ fulfilling religious duties
During the initial date for Najib’s judicial review application to be heard, his counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah requested that the court postpone proceedings pending an affidavit from a “critical witness”.
The witness, Shafee said then, was in Mecca and was expected to be back in Malaysia in time for Aidilfitri celebrations, which began on April 10. Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh had then set April 17 to hear the case.
While the lawyer had kept mum on the witness’ identity when approached by the media at that time, it is now assumed that Najib’s legal team was waiting on Zahid’s affidavit following his religious pilgrimage.
April 9: Zahid signs affidavit at home; who else was there?
According to a lengthy Facebook post by Selangor Umno chief Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, Zahid had signed the affidavit at his home on April 9, which was also the last day of Ramadan.
Megat also shared several photos depicting Zahid putting down his signature on the document under Shafee’s watchful eye while several other individuals, including Megat himself, watched on.
While it remains unknown who else was present at the gathering, Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos has since claimed that he was among 10 party figures who had held a closed-door meeting with Zahid prior to his pilgrimage.
Jamal alleged that during the meeting, Zahid had told the Umno division leaders about the royal addendum order.
In his affidavit, Zahid also asserted that Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail had seen the addendum order, while respondents in Najib’s judicial review application possessed a copy of the royal document.
April 17: Court proceedings held in chambers; how ‘sensitive’ was Zahid’s affidavit?
As media personnel gathered at the court complex, here, on April 17, court proceedings for Najib’s judicial review application took a surprising turn as Shafee requested that the case be heard before the judge without the presence of journalists or the public.
At that time, Shafee had not mentioned any names when he pointed to the “sensitive” nature of an affidavit submitted by a “critical witness” – now understood to be a reference to Zahid’s affidavit.
The lawyer also said that senior federal counsels Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, who appeared for the Attorney-General’s Chambers, had no objections to having the case heard in chambers.
Later, when approached by the media, Shafee insisted that the affidavit was not publicly accessible and cautioned against reporting on its alleged contents.
However, a source later told Scoop that the court had not yet made an order against the publication of the affidavit, as Shafee had merely made an oral application before the court earlier today.
The source also pointed out that the document had been made available online via the court’s e-filing system prior to Shafee’s oral application. – April 20, 2024