KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 10): The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has filed an application at the High Court to study and review former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house confinement order that had been issue by the court on Friday.
The application also seeks a new release order to be issued, according to a brief statement from Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.
“The new release order is in line with the pardon given by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, on Sept 18,” the AG said.
The matter has been fixed before High Court judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin on Tuesday afternoon.
Prior to this, the AGC had said on Friday (Nov 6) that the former prime minister should remain in prison until the conditional pardon order on his house arrest is clarified.
The AGC said the delay was not meant to dispute the decree of the King's order, but to clarify a passage in the order concerning the effect of paying the RM50 million fine.
“The AG’s Chambers will take the next action after studying and clarifying the matter,” a statement issued by the AGC said.
It said two interpretations needed to be considered: that payment of the fine allows Najib to serve the rest of his jail time at home; or that settlement of the penalty allows for a full pardon, which would free Najib.
The AGC said this uncertainty affects the court order issued after Umno settled the RM50 million fine for Najib earlier on Nov 6. That order states that Najib be freed immediately and also directs that the former Umno president spend the rest of his jail time under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.
Prior to this, there reportedly was confusion over the High Court order.
Sultan Ibrahim had said that his pardon order must be respected as it was his prerogative.
However, the AGC denied challenging the validity of the conditional royal pardon granted to Najib, and stressed that it is merely seeking legal clarity on the implementation of the pardon alongside existing court orders.
The AGC emphasised that it had neither questioned nor sought to suspend the conditional pardon granted by the King, rejecting allegations that the AG had exceeded his powers or defied the royal decree.
“Instead, the AGC said the issue requiring judicial determination concerns the legal implications of a discharge order issued by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday, following Najib's payment of a RM50 million fine,” the statement read.
The conditional pardon was given in September by Sultan Ibrahim, where it required Najib to pay the RM50 million fine first in order for him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest at his Langgak Duta home, until Aug 23, 2028.
He was found guilty of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three money laundering charges, and one count of abuse of power of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, for which he was originally sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and a RM210 million fine.