Media barred from court proceedings after lawyer's request in Najib's bid to serve remaining sentence at home as ordered by previous Agong

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — The media were today barred from proceedings of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s legal bid to compel the federal government and the Pardons Board to produce a purported “supplementary order” from the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Earlier, Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah requested leave proceedings to be heard in chambers before High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh.

For those who filed lawsuits through judicial review applications, they will have to first get the court’s leave or permission for the lawsuit to be heard.

“In view of certain materials disclosed in the affidavits, especially the last affidavit that has been put in, it is apparently sensitive,” Muhammad Shafee said.

Previously, Muhammad Shafee had informed the court a “critical” witness — whose identity is undisclosed — was set to file an affidavit in support of Najib's legal bid.

Senior federal counsels Shamsul Bolhassan and Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, appearing for the Attorney General’s Chambers, did not object to Muhammad Shafee's request.

Subsequently, Amarjeet then said members of the media had to be excluded from open court coverage.

In chambers, proceedings concluded about two hours later, with Amarjeet fixing June 5 to deliver his decision on whether to grant leave to Najib.

When met outside, Muhammad Shafee told reporters the present issue before the court was the "first of its kind" where an order purportedly issued by the former King was neither shown to Najib nor enforced.

He also confirmed the applicant's "critical" witness — whose affidavit in support has been filed — had affirmed the existence of the supplementary order by witnessing said document.

"Those concealing [the supplementary order[ are certainly committing serious wrong, you cannot conceal, this is the Agong's order you have to obey," he said.

In his application for leave to seek judicial review filed on April 1, Najib claimed the former King issued the order during the January 29 meeting of the board, for the former to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest.

A total of seven respondents were named in Najib’s suit, namely the home minister, the commissioner-general of prisons, the attorney general, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the director-general of Legal Affairs Division, and the Malaysian government.

In the application, Najib alleged that he received confirmation on February 12 about the issuance of the “supplementary order” or Addendum Order, which would allow him to serve his reduced prison sentence under the condition of “home arrest” instead of Kajang Prison.

On February 2, the Pardon’s Board halved Najib’s sentence from a 12-year prison term to six years for misappropriating funds amounting to RM42 million, which means he may be released earlier on August 23, 2028.

Najib has been imprisoned since August 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering over the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds.

The Pardon’s Board said it had also decided to reduce his RM210 million fine to RM50 million, and his early release would be contingent on him paying this amount.

Other reliefs sought by Najib include for the court to compel the respondents to execute said supplementary order.