KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — The government will file for a gag and prohibitive order in the High Court to prevent the public from discussing convicted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s attempt to compel Putrajaya to allow him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan told reporters that he made an oral application today, but Najib’s lead lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, objected.
“We applied for the order and asked that it remain in force pending the outcome of the hearing as it touches on sensitive issues,” he was quoted by news portal Free Malaysia Today as saying in Putrajaya.
He added the judge took note of the objection and directed the government to file a formal application by January 20, adding that Najib will be given a week to respond.
Shafee was also reported to have expressed his opposition to the government’s gag order bid, likening the situation to “the horses had bolted from the barn”.
“It is an issue of public interest and has been debated widely in the past. Even the prime minister discussed it in and outside Parliament,” he was quoted as saying.
Najib was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former unit of sovereign investment fund 1MDB, and sentenced initially to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million.
His jail term was later halved to six years and his fine reduced to RM50 million, but he has continued to challenge the sentence, claiming to have received a royal decree that would allow him to serve the remainder of his penalty at home instead of Kajang Prison.
