PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak plans to take legal action against former Attorney General Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh for contempt of court, accusing him of concealing a royal addendum order that purportedly allows Najib to serve his prison sentence under house arrest.
Najib's lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, announced his client's instructions to file the contempt action against Ahmad Terrirudin, who now serves as a Federal Court judge.
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"The contempt action will be filed by tomorrow (Feb 13) or latest by Friday (Feb 14). The papers are ready but we want to go through it carefully," Muhammad Shafee stated during a press conference on Wednesday (Feb 12).
The senior lawyer referenced Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's statement regarding the addendum as grounds for the contempt action.
It was reported that on Jan 11, Anwar confirmed that the then AG received a letter concerning the royal addendum, which ordered Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
However, Anwar noted that after the letter was received, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong changed, and the AG submitted the letter to Istana Negara for the newly appointed Agong, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, to decide.
After the 1MDB trial, Muhammad Shafee claimed the former AG was not being candid during the High Court's judicial review application.
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"We feel that it is not candid or honest on the part of the former AG because when we appeared before High Court judge Justice Amarjeet Singh, there was total silence. In fact, they challenged us by saying that 'prove that the addendum actually exists'. Otherwise, it is hearsay," Muhammad Shafee added.
He stated that the legal action aims to hold the government accountable.
"The government must be stating things in total candidness or candour," Muhammad Shafee said.
On Jan 6, Najib's judicial review application linked to the addendum order was remitted to the High Court by the Court of Appeal for a hearing on its merits.
A case management will be held before a deputy registrar on March 11.
Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1, 2024.
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He named 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), director-general of the 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 that all of the respondents or one of them 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 to 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. He later won his appeal at the appellate court.
