KUALA LUMPUR — The Sultan of Pahang has confirmed his addendum order that Datuk Seri Najib Razak serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the Court of Appeal today.
Najib’s defence lawyer told the court this was confirmed in a letter dated January 4, 2025, from the Pahang Royal Council to the former prime minister’s son, state exco Datuk Mohamad Nizar Najib.
The letter states that Pahang Sultan, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, as 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong had decreed that Najib complete the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest through an addendum order dated January 29 2024.
“As such, this letter on behalf of His Majesty the Sultan of Pahang as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, certifies that the royal addendum order in question exists and is authentic,” said the letter.
The document was signed by Comptroller of the Pahang Royal Household, Datuk Ahmad Khirrizal Ab Rahman.
Shafee raised the letter during submissions before the appellate court began hearing Najib’s appeal against the high court’s dismissal of his judicial review to get the government to confirm and enforce the order on his house arrest.
Najib is seeking to adduce additional evidence to back his appeal, and Shafee said today that this includes another affidavit filed by Nizar two days ago on the letter from the Pahang Royal Council.
Nizar’s earlier affidavit on additional evidence – the addendum order document – was submitted to the court as additional evidence on Dec 5, causing the court to postpone its hearing on the appeal after the prosecution said it needed time to verify the evidence’s authenticity.
Shafee today told the appellate panel that Nizar had received the addendum order on Dec 2 from the Pahang palace, and it was a “personal record” of the Sultan Abdullah’s, which is why it did not carry the sultan’s signature.
The Jan 4, 2025 letter signed by the Pahang royal household’s comptroller, meanwhile, is to further affirm the authenticity of the added order shared with Nizar last month.
Shafee said this evidence was sufficient to “rebuke” the high court’s ruling that dismissed other supporting affidavits as hearsay.
“Therefore, we are seeking the admission of all additional evidence so we can argue this appeal later in the spirit of transparency,” the lawyer told the three-judge panel led by Judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi and comprising Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, and Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril.
Previously, the high court in dismissing Najib’s judicial review, held that affidavits supporting his claim filed by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, were hearsay and inadmissible.
In countering Shafee’s submission today, Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan said the addendum order was never discussed by the Federal Territories Pardons Board at its meeting on Jan 29, 2024, when it decided on Najib’s reduced sentence for his conviction for corruption in the SRC International case.
The meeting, chaired by Sultan Abdullah as the then Agong, only discussed the reduction of Najib’s 12-year jail term to six years, and his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
To this, Shafee countered that it was dishonest of the government to stay silent on the addendum order because it existed.
Najib began serving his sentence at Kajang Prison in August 2022, and applied for a royal pardon the following month.
He filed an application for a judicial review on an alleged addendum order signed by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, after the Pardons Board reduced his sentence and fine last year, accusing the government of denying him justice by withholding and order. – January 6, 2025