PETALING JAYA: A Court of Appeal judge in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house arrest appeal has questioned the absence of a letter from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) or the government disputing the addendum.
Judge Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffri, who is on the panel, was “disturbed”, as quoted by the New Straits Times, by the lack of communication from the respondents who challenged the addendum’s existence, allegedly allowing Najib to be under house arrest for the rest of his prison sentence.
Firuz’s remarks come after senior federal counsel Shamsol Bolhassan submitted why the Court of Appeal should dismiss Najib’s application to cite additional evidence in his appeal on the matter.
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“During the last proceeding, you told the panel that you needed time to verify whether this so-called draft addendum originated from the palace itself.
“However, before us today, as I was preparing to hear this appeal, what I see is a statement from the Istana Negara… I am disturbed.
“There was no letter from the AGC or any other respondents challenging the addendum… it is as if you acknowledge the existence of this addendum,“ he was quoted as saying.
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The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Najib’s application to commence a judicial review of an alleged addendum issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong hence the 71-year-old is currently appealing against the decision made on July 3 2024.
He is reportedly seeking a “mandamus order”, as quoted, to compel the respondents to respond and verify the alleged addendum’s existence, dated January 29 2024.
The respondents in this proceeding are the Malaysian government, the Home Minister, 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 (JPM) (Law and Institutional Reform) and Director-General of Legal Affairs Division at JPM.
