Saifuddin says in the dark on ‘supplementary decree for Najib’s house arrest'
Published on: Thursday, April 04, 2024
By:
FMT, Mohamad Fadli
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said he will respond to a letter from Najib Razak’s lawyers requesting him to confirm the existence of the supplementary decree.
PETALING JAYA: Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail says he knows nothing about a purported “supplementary decree” from the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong allowing Najib Razak to serve his six-year prison sentence under house arrest.
At a press conference, Saifuddin confirmed receiving a letter from Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah, asking the minister to confirm whether the supplementary decree existed.
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“I have no information on this additional document. He says it exists. So I will go through (and respond to the letter) based on what I know,” Saifuddin said.
When asked if he had ever sighted the alleged “addendum order” made by the king at the time, the minister said no.
“No. I’m not a member of the (Federal Territories) Pardons Board. I have no idea.”
Saifuddin said he would respond to Shafee’s letter in due time, and declined to comment further.
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On Feb 2, the Federal Territories Pardons Board halved Najib’s prison sentence in his SRC International case from 12 years to six and reduced his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Najib, 70, is currently serving his sentence at Kajang prison and is to be released on Aug 23, 2028.
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He filed an application at the High Court on April 1 to compel the government to produce the alleged supplementary decree from the former king.
The former Pekan MP claimed that the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, had issued the supplementary decree during the pardons board’s meeting on Jan 29.
He claimed that the addendum order was not announced by the board on Feb 2.
Najib’s lawyers have also written to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said to confirm the existence of the decree in question. The query has gone unanswered.
Najib alleged that the government was in contempt for not executing the supplementary decree.
He also wants the Kuala Lumpur High Court to compel the government to execute the purported decree to place him under house arrest.
The High Court has set April 17 to hear Najib’s application.
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