KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): The apex court is set to deliver its decision on imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's legal bid over a 'royal addendum' allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.
Wednesday's decision will be the culmination of the convoluted court saga which began in April last year.
For ease of The Edge's readers, below is a brief summary of salient court developments in anticipation of Wednesday's decision.
What does Najib want?
Najib's legal challenge is premised on his claim that the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) had issued a royal addendum permitting him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
The ex-PM is currently in Kajang Prison serving his sentence which was meted out in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case. He was initially sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million. However, the Pardons Board reduced his sentence to six years and the fine to RM50 million, back in January 2024. Najib, which started serving his sentence in August 2022, has served three years of the reduced sentence.
In gist, should the royal addendum exist, Najib wants a court order allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
High Court dismissed bid as evidence was insufficient for case to continue
However, Najib's bid to commence this legal action was dismissed by the High Court back in July 2024 on the grounds that the affidavits Najib relied on to back his claims were "hearsay" evidence and were not sufficient to pass the threshold for the court to grant leave (permission) for the case to continue.
Najib appealed against the decision and in January this year, the Court of Appeal (COA) via a 2-1 majority decision sent the matter back to the High Court for its merits to be heard.
The majority ruled that further evidence adduced during the appeal proceedings showed the existence of the addendum, and the High Court should hear the matter, as, among others, Najib's rights had been aggrieved.
In split decision, COA found Pahang Royal Household's alleged letter pointed to existence of addendum and ought to be ventilated
Najib's son Datuk Nizar Najib produced a letter, at the 11th hour, purportedly from the Pahang Royal Household, allegedly verifying the existence of the royal addendum. The 16th YDPA is currently the Sultan of Pahang.
However, the minority decision was that Nizar's bid to adduce the additional evidence did not pass the threshold as required by law.
AG argues Najib lacked urgency in producing alleged addendum, Shafee argues AGC and govt must be compelled to produce disputed document
Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar filed an appeal against the COA’s decision, and the Federal Court granted leave for the appeal to proceed on April 28.
During the substantive hearing of the matter, Mohd Dusuki argued that the 'royal addendum' should have been produced during the High Court's proceedings and that Najib's side had failed to do so in a timely and diligent manner.
Arguing against the COA’s decision, the AG said that if the appellate court accepted the document or addendum as evidence, then its veracity should have been established.
He added there was no proper seal of the then-YDPA, and no signature by His Majesty, although the purported document showed it was addressed to then-AG Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh.
Furthermore, the AG argued that this case was Najib's application, and it is on Najib to prove any allegations and grounds raised. Dusuki added that the AG's Chambers were not duty bound to confirm or deny Najib's allegations.
Najib's counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, contends that Ahmad Terriruddin, who is now an apex court judge, should have provided the assistance to not only comply with the main order of a reduced sentence, but to apply the addendum order allowing Najib to be under house arrest.
As this was not done, Shafee says that Najib was right to file the application to have the respondents produce the said addendum.