Anwar should allow Agong to ponder on Najib’s house arrest amendment

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has stated that he will leave the question of the alleged addendum allowing Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest to the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong to decide.

Anwar stated that he briefly discussed the subject with Sultan Ibrahim during their meeting in Johor Bahru yesterday.

“His Majesty wanted to know the latest developments,” he informed the Dewan Rakyat today.

“So, we leave it to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to bring the matter to the (Federal Territories) Pardons Board meeting for thorough consideration.”

Anwar stated that he had earlier requested that the monarch review the situation because it continued to be addressed in the public realm.

The prime minister was responding to Sheikh Mohmed Puzi Sheikh Ali (BN-Pekan), who asked if Anwar intended to meet with the Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is alleged to have issued the addition, to address the situation.

Earlier, Anwar responded to Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) by stating that parliamentary rules restrict all discussions on ongoing court proceedings, citing them as sub judice.

However, he promised the House that once the case’s legal proceedings were over, he would provide a detailed response.

On January 6, the Court of Appeal will consider Najib’s bid for leave to present new evidence in his appeal.

Najib is requesting leave to file a court appeal of the alleged additional order. Shafee Abdullah, the former prime minister’s lawyer, announced on Thursday that Najib’s son, Nizar, had recently found additional proof confirming the existence of the addendum.

On July 3, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur refused Najib’s appeal for leave to initiate judicial review proceedings over the claimed amendment order.

It found that the former prime minister had failed to present an arguable case for a full hearing on his proposed judicial review application.

The Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB) announced on February 2 that they had reduced Najib’s 12-year prison sentence in his SRC International case to six years and his punishment from RM210 million to RM50 million.

Najib is now completing his imprisonment sentence at Kajang Prison.

In his leave application submitted in the High Court on April 1, Najib claimed that during an FTPB meeting on January 29, Sultan Abdullah issued a supplementary decree allowing him to serve the remainder of his reduced jail sentence under home arrest.

He said the board failed to notify the supplementary decree conditions and the government was in contempt for not complying.

Najib wants the court to order the government to carry out the supplemental decree, if it exists, by placing him under home arrest.