KUALA LUMPUR: The government is applying for a gag order to prevent public discussion about an addendum that Datuk Seri Najib Razak claims would allow him to serve the remainder of his SRC International Sdn Bhd prison sentence under house arrest.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan – representing the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the government and five others – made the application orally during case management yesterday.
He cited “sensitive issues” as the reason for the application.
The government also objected to a watching brief conducted by lawyers appearing for MPs from Perikatan Nasional.
Speaking to reporters, Shamsul said the judge noted the objection.
He added that the court directed the government to file a formal application by Jan 20.
Meanwhile, Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he objected to the application.
“It is an issue of public interest and has been debated widely in the past. Even the Prime Minister discussed it in and outside Parliament,” said Shafee.
The court has fixed case management on March 11.
On Jan 6, Najib obtained leave from the Court of Appeal in his appeal relating to his claims of a royal addendum order permitting house arrest.
In a 2-1 majority decision, the appellate court overturned the High Court’s dismissal of Najib’s application for leave to initiate judicial review.
The case was remitted to be heard before a different judge at the High Court.
Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1, 2024.
He named the Home Minister, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the director-general of legal affairs at the Prime Minister’s Department, and the government as the first to seventh respondents, respectively.
In the notice of application, Najib sought a mandamus order for all or one of the respondents to answer and verify the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024.
Najib is seeking a mandamus order where, if the addendum order exists, all or one of the respondents must execute the royal order and immediately move him from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur, where he would serve his remaining sentence under house arrest.
On July 4, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Najib’s application for leave, citing hearsay in supporting affidavits.
