May discuss Najib’s house arrest bid when PM’s back, says Fahmi
Published on: Wednesday, May 15, 2024
By:
FMT, Shahrul Shahabudin
Former prime minister Najib Razak wants to compel the government to execute the purported supplementary decree allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet may soon discuss Najib Razak’s bid to compel the government to produce and execute a “supplementary order” allowing the ex-prime minister to serve his sentence under house arrest.
Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the matter was not discussed when the Cabinet met today, with deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi chairing the meeting in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s absence.
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“No, we did not discuss it. Maybe after the prime minister comes back (from overseas),” he said at a press conference when asked if the matter was raised at the Cabinet meeting earlier.
Anwar was in Qatar for a three-day official visit and arrived in the Kyrgyz Republic last night for a two-day trip. The prime minister will then be visiting Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Najib claimed that the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, had issued a “supplementary decree” during the Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB) meeting on Jan 29, one day before the end of his reign as monarch.
The former prime minister wants to compel the government to execute the purported supplementary decree allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
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He said his lawyers had written to Anwar, Zahid, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said to confirm whether the supplementary decree existed, but their requests went unanswered.
However, Zahid has filed an affidavit to support Najib’s legal challenge bid, claiming that investment, trade, and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz had shown him the “addendum order” on his phone during a meeting.
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The High Court has set April 17 to hear Najib’s application.
On Feb 2, the FTPB announced that the 12-year prison sentence in Najib’s SRC International case had been reduced to six years, while his fine of RM210 million was lowered to RM50 million.
During an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, Anwar said only the king could decide whether or not Najib could serve his sentence under house arrest.
He also reportedly said that, if the king were to ask for his opinion, the order should only be issued after the former Pekan MP’s 1MDB trial is over.
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