PUTRAJAYA (Aug 13): Imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s legal bid to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest will have its day in court.
However, Najib’s senior defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah made an impromptu, oral application on Wednesday for the Federal Court to hear and decide on the matter, without remitting it back to the High Court. He wanted the same panel to hear the matter on Wednesday.
Shafee said that he was under “very strict instruction from his client” to make the application, as Najib was concerned over delays as the case has a bearing over his imprisonment sentence.
The senior lawyer made the application immediately, following the apex court’s judgement earlier in the day, in which the unanimous three-member apex court panel decided to send Najib’s legal bid back to the High Court for its merits to be heard and ventilated.
The court ruled that at this juncture, the addendum order exists, but it is not for the Federal Court bench to determine its validity. That was to be determined by the High Court following a full hearing.
Shafee said that he could “move mountains”, but in his estimation, the case would still take about two years to complete. He added that this issue has been hanging over Najib’s head for over a year and a half, thus he could not wait any longer.
Shafee also cited case laws to show that the apex court could hear and determine the matter.
However, panel leader Chief Judge of Malaya (CJM) Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim dismissed the application as there were “too many loose ends to be tied up”, which was not the function of the apex court to hear.
She added that as CJM, she had given strict instructions to the judges to complete cases within nine to 12 months, and the perception of delays was only Shafee’s assumption.
Hasnah also noted that all three members in the panel — including Federal Court judges Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah — were due to retire soon, with only about three months left in their tenures. Hasnah herself is scheduled to retire in about the same period.
“We are normal human beings. We are not robots. We need to read and digest. We don’t [just] take lawyer’s submissions [at face value]. We do our own research,” she said.
The panel also highlighted that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) also needed time to respond to such an application.
Judge Hanipah noted that the case laws Shafee cited had different circumstances than the present case. Judge Zabariah also noted that as this was the Federal Court, it would be the final avenue for Najib to air his case, and that may not be fair.
To this, Shafee answered: “My client is prepared to take the risk”.
However, the panel pushed back, saying that in the interest of justice for everyone, the matter should go back to High Court for a full hearing.
The panel then set Aug 18 as case management at the High Court before a new judge. The panel also ordered for an early hearing date to be fixed by the High Court, of about a month after the case management.
The affidavits are also to be filed simultaneously to prevent further delays.
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