AN Opposition lawmaker has filed a motion to debate the existence of an alleged royal addendum for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
In the motion filed by Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), sighted by The Star, he wanted the matter to be deliberated under Standing Orders 18(2) and 18(1) on a specific matter of public importance that requires urgent attention.
He also wanted to know the position of the government on the matter.
In his supporting argument, Takiyuddin said there was an alleged addendum dated Jan 29, 2024, addressed to the Attorney General that has gone viral on social media. The government, he said, had neither unequivocally denied nor confirmed the existence of the decree when questioned, either inside or outside of the august House.
“Therefore, I seek permission under Standing Order 18(7) for this motion to be allowed and to debate the existence of the addendum purportedly issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, in which Najib is directed to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, and the government’s position regarding the implementation of the addendum,” said Takiyuddin.
Najib had filed an application for leave to adduce additional evidence in his appeal to support his claim of a royal addendum allowing the remainder of his six-year prison sentence to be served under house arrest in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
His lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal on Dec 5 that the application was filed two days earlier.
On July 3, the High Court rejected Najib’s application for leave to initiate a judicial review of the purported addendum and the former premier is appealing this decision at the Court of Appeal.
Najib also requested that, if the additional decree existed, the respondents must enforce it and transfer him immediately from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
The High Court had sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison with a fine of RM210mil in the SRC International case.
However, the sentence was reduced to six years and the fine reduced to RM50mil after he filed a petition for a royal pardon on Sept 2, 2022.
