PUTRAJAYA: Despite the current attorney general's advice, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said that Datuk Seri Najib Razak would still file the contempt application within the next week or two.
He also referenced a public statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which, according to Muhammad Shafee, supports the grounds for the contempt proceedings.
Attorney General Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar had earlier advised Muhammad Shafee not to proceed with a contempt of court action.
Muhammad Shafee revealed that the letter from the Attorney General was sent around three weeks ago.
Speaking to the media on Monday (April 21) at the Palace of Justice, Shafee referred to his previous statement on Feb 12, where he announced Najib’s intention to cite former attorney general Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh for contempt of court.
The action stems from the alleged "addendum" order by the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which purportedly allowed Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
It was reported that on Jan 11, Anwar confirmed that the then attorney general had received a letter concerning the alleged royal addendum directing that Najib be placed under house arrest.
However, Anwar explained that after the letter was received, a new Yang di-Pertuan Agong was installed, and the letter was subsequently forwarded to Istana Negara for Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to consider.
Following Najib’s 1MDB trial proceedings, Shafee claimed the former attorney general had not been entirely forthcoming during a High Court judicial review hearing.
On Jan 6, the Court of Appeal remitted Najib’s judicial review application regarding the addendum order back to the High Court for a full hearing on its merits.
Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1, 2024. He named seven respondents: 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 of Malaysia.
In the notice of application, Najib sought a mandamus order requiring the respondents to confirm and verify the existence of the alleged addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024.
Should the order be confirmed, Najib is also seeking a further mandamus order for its immediate enforcement, which would see him transferred from Kajang Prison to his home in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
On July 4, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Najib’s application for leave, citing hearsay in the supporting affidavits. However, he later succeeded in his appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Najib is currently serving a six-year sentence at Kajang Prison, after the Pardons Board reduced his original 12-year term for his conviction in the SRC International case. He has been incarcerated for approximately one year and eight months.
When asked if Najib would be seeking a full royal pardon, Shafee said the legal team was prioritising the issue of the alleged addendum order.
"We’re giving it a bit more time to decide whether to go further with a full pardon. It’s always an option, but not at the moment," he said.
