Hearing set for later this month in Najib's bid to serve prison sentence under house arrest

Source: CNA

SINGAPORE: The Malaysian High Court has set Apr 17 to hear former prime minister Najib Razak's bid to get the government to produce an addendum order by the former king that purportedly allows him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported on Thursday (Apr 4) that Najib's lawyer Shafee Abdullah had informed Justice Amarjeet Singh that his client had wanted to secure an additional affidavit, a written statement confirmed by oath, to support his application.

Mr Shafee, however, did not disclose the identity of this "critical" witness.

The lawyer added that the person was not in the country at the moment, and will only return after Hari Raya Puasa, FMT reported. The celebration falls on Apr 10.

Earlier in his application to seek the judicial review on Apr 1, Najib claimed that the then-king - Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang - had issued the order for him to be under house arrest during a Jan 29 meeting of the Pardons Board. The meeting was held one day before Sultan Abdullah ended his reign as Malaysia's monarch.

On Feb 2, the Pardons Board officially announced that Najib's jail sentence for corruption be reduced from 12 to six years. The board also reduced his RM210 million (US$44.5 million) fine to RM50 million. CNA was the first to break the news on Jan 31 on Najib's partial royal pardon, citing sources including senior government officials.

In his application on Apr 1, Najib alleged that he received confirmation on Feb 12 about the issuance of the addendum order by Sultan Abdullah. This would have allowed him to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under home arrest instead of at Kajang Prison, Malay Mail reported.

Najib has been imprisoned since Aug 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 funds. SRC International is a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).