The Malaysian Bar on Saturday voted to go to court to challenge the legality of the Pardons Board’s decision to reduce former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine in relation to the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million.
At the Malaysian Bar’s 78th annual general meeting (AGM), members of the legal professional body for Peninsular Malaysia in a near-unanimous vote adopted the resolution for the Bar Council to urgently file the court challenge.
Malaysian Bar’s new president Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahab said that 238 members of the Malaysian Bar had voted in favour of this resolution, while “only one” member at the AGM voted against filing the court case.
“We have overwhelmingly approved with overwhelming majority the motion regarding the Pardons Board’s decision, of which it has been decided we will file a judicial review regarding that,” he told reporters here after the AGM ended and after the Bar Council for the term 2024/2025 held its first meeting.
“We are thinking of filing in within these two weeks,” he said, adding that the Malaysian Bar will have to take its lawyers’ advice regarding the details of the planned court challenge.
When asked why it has to be the Malaysian Bar to file this court challenge against the Pardons Board’s decision and why it is not left to individuals or non-governmental organisations to do so, Ezri explained:
“So why us, it’s because of our duty without fear or favour and us protecting the rule of law, so that’s why I think the floor has decided in that manner that we need to file in the judicial review.”
Asked to address any perception that such a court challenge against the Pardons Board’s decision could be seen as challenging the Agong’s pardon powers, Ezri pointed out that the planned court challenge is not against the Agong’s decision.
