Kuala Lumpur: The government will file a motion for a gag order to prevent discussions regarding Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's judicial review application. This case involves his claims about an additional document that purportedly allows him to serve the rest of his prison sentence under house arrest.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, representing the government and six other respondents, highlighted the sensitive nature of the case as the reason for the gag order application. The court has instructed the application to be submitted by January 20, with Najib required to file a response within a week. An online case management session for the judicial review is scheduled for March 11.
Shamsul further noted that the government would oppose the involvement of Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, and Datuk Seri Zulkifli Noordin as watching briefs for opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, PAS vice president Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, and Bersatu vice president Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee. The formal application for the watching brief must be filed by January 27, and the government is to file an affidavit in reply by February 10.
Meanwhile, Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah stated that his team will oppose the gag order, emphasizing the public interest in the case, which has been widely discussed, including in Parliament.
On January 6, the Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 majority ruling, remitted the case to the High Court for a hearing on its merits after allowing Najib's appeal against the High Court's dismissal of his application for leave to initiate judicial review.
Najib, aged 71, is seeking a mandamus order to compel the respondents to confirm the existence of the alleged additional document dated January 29, 2024. He has listed the Minister of Home Affairs, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya; the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the Director General of the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister's Department, and the Government of Malaysia as respondents.
The former Pekan MP is also requesting that, if the additional document is confirmed to exist, the respondents be compelled to act on it and transfer him from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
Previously, High Court Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh dismissed Najib's application for leave to initiate a judicial review on July 3, ruling that the affidavits supporting his claims, including those from UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and vice president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, were hearsay and inadmissible.
Najib has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, following his conviction for embezzling RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd. He filed for a royal pardon on September 2, 2022. The High Court had sentenced him to 12 years in prison and fined him RM210 million, with the sentence upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. However, the Pardons Board later reduced Najib's prison sentence to six years and his fine to RM50 million.