KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 10): Senior defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said that Datuk Seri Najib Razak was a relieved man on Tuesday, and that the lawyer would personally like to thank the King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, for allowing his client to serve the remainder of his sentence until Aug 23, 2028 under house arrest.
Shafee told the media that it is only apt that the former prime minister be allowed to serve the sentence under house arrest as he had already served more than half of his jail sentence in prison.
“I want to thank the Yang di-Pertuan Agong profusely, because finally, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has shown compassion. We have written to him a number of times, but he has considered our client's matter carefully, and we want to thank him for giving Najib the house arrest that he really needs,” the lawyer said.
Shafee further added that it was a relief for the former prime minister, following the uncertainty over his house arrest order last week, which ended with a fresh High Court order on Tuesday, allowing him to serve the remainder of his SRC International Sdn Bhd prison sentence at home.
“It looks like it’s a final relief, you know, a great sigh to him because he has been waiting for this,” Shafee said.
Najib has been in prison since Aug 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and sentence, which was originally for 12 years’ imprisonment and a RM210 million fine, for his SRC conviction.
This was reduced following a pardon granted by the previous Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, in 2024, which halved his prison term and reduced the fine to RM50 million. On Sept 18 this year, the King, Sultan Ibrahim, granted Najib a pardon that allows him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, provided that he first pays off the RM50 million fine.
More to come