The government will apply to the High Court for a 'gag order' to prohibit anyone from publicly discussing the alleged clemency addendum that allows former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.
Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bohasan, representing the Malaysian government and six other respondents, stated that the application is made due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
He said this to reporters outside the court after attending an in-camera hearing presided by Judge Hajjah Yahya.
The court ordered that a formal application be submitted by January 20th, and Najib must file a response affidavit within a week. The court also scheduled a case management through the e-Review system on March 11th to handle this judicial review application.
As for the three lawyers, namely PAS Secretary-General Datuk Seri Takiyuddin, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Tan Sri Azhar, and Datuk Seri Zulkifli Noordin who applied to be interveners in the case representing the opposition leader of the parliament, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, PAS Vice President Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, and Bersatu Vice President Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee, Shamsul stated that they will raise objections.
The court ordered the submission of written applications to become interveners by January 27th, and the government must file its response affidavit by February 10th.
Additionally, Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Shafee, said they will oppose the application for a 'gag order' as the case involves public interest and has been widely discussed, including at the parliamentary level.
On January 6th, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, by a majority of 2-1, allowed Najib's judicial review appeal on the alleged home confinement addendum and referred the case back to the Kuala Lumpur High Court for further hearing.
Najib is seeking a mandamus order to compel the respondents to respond and to confirm the existence of the addendum document, which dates back to January 29th last year.
He named the Minister of Home Affairs; Director of the Prisons Department; Attorney General's Chambers; Pardons Boards of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya; the Prime Minister's Department (Legal and Institutional Reform); Director of the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department, and the Government of Malaysia as respondents.
Najib also applied for a court order that requires all respondents, or any of them, to execute and immediately transfer him from Kajang Prison to his home in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his sentence, should the addendum document be proven to exist.
On July 3rd last year, High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal dismissed Najib's application for judicial review, ruling that four affidavits supporting Najib’s claim, including statements from UMNO President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid and Vice President Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy, were hearsay and inadmissible as court evidence.
Najib was convicted for misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd, sentenced to 12 years in prison, and fined RM210 million. He has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022.
Najib appealed the High Court’s decision, but his appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, upholding the original verdict.
He sought clemency on September 2, 2022, and the Pardons Board later reduced his sentence from 12 years to 6 years, while the fine was reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.