Court lets Najib file two more affidavits on house arrest

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been allowed to submit two additional affidavits in his application to commence a judicial review over an alleged royal addendum order, which he claimed would allow him to serve his remaining prison term under house arrest.

High Court judge Justice Amarjeet Singh, who allowed the application, also fixed July 3 to deliver his decision on Najib’s application for leave to commence the judicial review.

Yesterday was initially fixed for a decision on the leave application.

Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who represented the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), confirmed that the court fixed the new date for a decision following the insertion of the two additional affidavits.

One of the affidavits was affirmed by Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail while the other was on a speech by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at PKR’s 25th Convention at the IDCC Convention Centre in Shah Alam in April.

Shamsul said the AGC had objected to the two affidavits being submitted as they were filed out of time.

“However, the application (to insert the affidavits) has been allowed by the court,” he said when met by the press after the proceedings held in-chambers ended yesterday.

Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah confirmed that the affidavits have been accepted by the court.

Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1.

The former prime minister named the Home Minister, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), director-general of the legal affairs at the Prime Minister’s Department, and the government as the first until the seventh respondents, respectively.

In the notice of application, Najib sought a mandamus order that all of the respondents or one of them answer and verify the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29.

He is also seeking a further mandamus order where if the addendum order exists, all or one of the respondents must execute the royal order and immediately move him from the Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur where he would serve his remaining sentence under house arrest.

On May 21, Wan Rosdy affirmed a five-page affidavit in which he claimed he was told about the royal addendum order by Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz late afternoon on Jan 30.

On the evening of the same day, Wan Rosdy said he attended a meeting at the residence of Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in Country Heights, Kajang, whereby Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan and Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said were also in attendance, among others.

Ahmad Zahid had also affirmed an affidavit that supported Najib’s application for leave.