KUALA LUMPUR: Tempers flared in the Dewan Rakyat as Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (Perikatan-Kota Bharu) questioned whether the alleged addendum on house arrest linked to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s partial pardon actually existed.
"Does this addendum exist as per the affidavits of Bagan Datuk (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) and the Menteri Besar (Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail)," said Takiyuddin to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Opposition chief whip asked her this during her winding-up speech on the Supply Bill 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 6).
Takiyuddin said he had also previously asked about the content, justification, and relevance of the proposed House Arrest Bill, which was part of Budget 2025.
Azalina responded that she is not responsible for the proposed House Arrest Bill and only the Home Minister can answer on the matter, advising Takiyuddin to direct his question to the Home Minister when he winds up the debate.
Takiyuddin responded by saying that the Attorney General’s Chambers falls under her purview.
“Don’t tell me you did not receive any information from the AG on the alleged addendum?” he said.
Azalina then hit back at Takiyuddin, who was a former Law Minister.
“As the former Law Minister, are you saying the AG reports to you? Is that what you are assuming,” she asked.
She then said that as the Law Minister, she is not involved in the appointment of the AG, does not go through his files, nor is she involved in the Pardons Board, which the Federal Territories Minister is part of.
The Dewan Rakyat saw a heated moment when Takiyuddin said Azalina should not resort to trickery.
Azalina said as the former Minister in charge of law, Takiyuddin should have been “smarter” than her.
“You are using trickery. Are you admitting you did give directions to the AG when you were minister? We don’t do that in the Madani government,” Azalina said.
Takiyuddin then responded that Azalina should have just said that she was unable to answer his question.
The Court of Appeal has set 5 December to hear Najib's appeal over the dismissal of his leave application for a judicial review regarding the alleged addendum on house arrest.
The 71-year-old former prime minister's application was rejected by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on 3 July 2024, which found that the four affidavits supporting his claim, including those from UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and vice-president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, were hearsay.
Najib has been incarcerated in Kajang Prison since 23 August 2022, after being convicted of embezzling RM42mil in funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Following his conviction, he filed a petition for a royal pardon on 2 September 2022, which resulted in a reduction of his sentence from 12 years to six years and his fine from RM210mil to RM50mil.
