Former Prime Minister Najib Razak now waits on a single judgment that may decide whether the long shadow of the SRC International affair follows him into his own home or remains behind prison walls. Convicted over RM42 million drawn from a former 1MDB subsidiary, he has seen his sentence reduced by royal pardon, yet a question remains open: does a royal addendum order from January 2024 really exist? High Court Justice Alice Loke will answer on December 22, and whichever way she rules, the matter is unlikely to rest there, since the law offers another round of appeal.
Court to Rule Tomorrow on Najib's Bid to Serve Prison Term Under House Arrest
This isn't about guilt. It's about where he serves the time.
Mark
Why does tomorrow's ruling matter so much if Najib's conviction is already final?
Mimi
Because this isn't about guilt. It's about where he serves the time. He's asking the court to compel the government to verify a royal addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024, and, if it exists, to carry it out.
Mark
And what would that change in practice?
Mimi
He'd move from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur for the remainder of the sentence, which the Pardons Board said ends Aug 23, 2028, or a year later if the fine isn't paid.
Luke
Let me flag something. The reporting tells us Najib claims the addendum exists. It doesn't say it has been confirmed, and that's the very question the court is being asked to resolve.
Mimi
Fair. The mandamus order he seeks starts with verification: answer whether it exists.
Mark
Why did it take so long to get to a full hearing?
Mimi
The High Court first refused leave in July 2024 over hearsay in the affidavits. The Court of Appeal reversed 2-1, and the Federal Court dismissed the AGC's appeal on Aug 13.
Luke
So the earlier rulings were procedural. None of them decided whether the order is real.
Mimi
Right. Tomorrow is the first decision on the merits.
Mark
What should we watch for?
Luke
Whether the judge finds the addendum exists, and whether the losing side appeals. The source doesn't say what the government's position on the merits was, so I wouldn't guess.
Il Polso
- A former prime minister waits on a single ruling that could move him from Kajang Prison to his Kuala Lumpur home within days.
- The entire case rests on whether a disputed royal addendum order dated January 29, 2024 actually exists.
- Courts have already swung back and forth, with a dismissal, a 2-1 Court of Appeal win, and a Federal Court sending the matter back for full hearing.
- Whatever Justice Loke decides on December 22, the losing side is poised to carry the fight to a higher court.
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak now waits on a single judgment that may decide whether the long shadow of the SRC International affair follows him into his own home or remains behind prison walls. Convicted over RM42 million drawn from a former 1MDB subsidiary, he has seen his sentence reduced by royal pardon, yet a question remains open: does a royal addendum order from January 2024 really exist? High Court Justice Alice Loke will answer on December 22, and whichever way she rules, the matter is unlikely to rest there, since the law offers another round of appeal.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak will learn on December 22 whether he can leave Kajang Prison and serve the remainder of his sentence at his Kuala Lumpur home. High Court Justice Alice Loke is set to deliver her decision in the judicial review he filed.
Najib, a former prime minister, is serving time for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering over RM42 million siphoned from SRC International, once a subsidiary of 1MDB. His appeals on conviction and sentence have been exhausted, but the Pardons Board later cut his original 12-year term to six years and reduced his RM210 million fine to RM50 million, with a release date of August 23, 2028, subject to payment of the fine.
The present dispute concerns a separate claim. Najib says a royal addendum order dated January 29, 2024 allows him to serve his sentence under house arrest, and he has asked the court to compel the respondents to verify it and, if it exists, to carry it out immediately.
The road to this point has been winding. The High Court first dismissed his application in July 2024 over hearsay in his affidavits, the Court of Appeal reversed by a 2-1 majority, and the Federal Court then upheld the return of the case for a full hearing. Justice Loke has now heard the submissions, and her ruling will settle whether the addendum exists, though either side may still appeal.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak is due to learn tomorrow whether he can leave Kajang Prison and serve the rest of his sentence at his home in Kuala Lumpur. High Court judge Justice Alice Loke is scheduled to deliver her decision on Dec 22 in the judicial review he brought.
Najib, a former prime minister, is serving a sentence for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. The charges relate to RM42mil siphoned from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB. He has exhausted his appeals in that case, having failed to overturn either his conviction or his sentence.
His term was later shortened. The Pardons Board announced in a statement that it had cut his original 12-year jail sentence to six years, and reduced his RM210mil fine to RM50mil. The board said he would be released on Aug 23, 2028. It added a condition: if the fine is not paid, a year would be added to the jail term, moving the release date to Aug 23, 2029.
The judicial review turns on a separate question. On April 1, 2024, two months after the Pardons Board's announcement, Najib filed an application for leave for judicial review. He claimed there was a royal addendum order, dated Jan 29, 2024, that would allow him to serve his time under house arrest.
He named seven respondents: the Home Minister, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the Minister at the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the director-general of legal affairs at the Prime Minister's Department, and the government. In his notice of application he asked for a mandamus order requiring all or any of them to answer and verify whether the addendum exists. If it does, he wants the respondents ordered to execute it and move him immediately from Kajang Prison to his Kuala Lumpur residence.
The path to tomorrow's ruling has been long. On July 4, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed his application for leave, citing hearsay in the supporting affidavits. Najib appealed, and the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour by a 2-1 majority, sending the matter back to the High Court for a full hearing.
The Attorney General's Chambers challenged that decision at the Federal Court. On Aug 13, a three-judge panel chaired by then Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Hasnah Mohammed Hashim dismissed the appeal. It ordered the judicial review returned to the High Court to be heard on its merits.
The case then went before Justice Alice Loke, who has heard the submissions and set Dec 22 for her decision. The ruling will bear on whether the claimed addendum order exists, and whichever way it goes, the losing side may take it further on appeal.
Citazioni salienti
If the fine is not paid, a year will be added to the jail term, and the release date will then be on Aug 23, 2029.— Pardons Board statement
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su The Star ↗
Crime & Justice