KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has failed in his attempt at the High Court here to obtain leave to cite Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh for contempt over claims that the ex-attorney general had concealed the existence of a purported royal addendum for house arrest.
Justice Alice Loke Yee Ching dismissed Najib’s application for leave yesterday after finding that he could not prove a prima facie case.
Najib contended that Ahmad Terrirudin had committed contempt of court when he directed his senior federal counsel to object to the former premier’s application for leave to initiate judicial review linked to the addendum order.
In her decision, Justice Loke said that Ahmad Terrirudin – who is now a Federal Court judge – merely embarked on a “filtering process” to his officers when the Attorney General’s Chambers made the objection.
“To my mind, it is pure conjecture to attribute dishonourable conduct on the part of the respondent merely from the stand taken to oppose the leave application.
“To recapitulate, the act of contempt alleged is the direction given by the respondent to advance false arguments and deny the existence of the addendum order.
“These allegations are mere speculation in the absence of clear evidence showing that the respondent personally did as alleged,” Justice Loke said.
She also said the respondent bore no duty or obligation to deny or confirm the existence of the addendum order at the leave stage.
“The consequences of contempt proceedings are serious, and this court will be circumspect in acting on mere supposition,” she added.
The court then ordered Najib to pay RM20,000 as cost to the respondent.
On May 21, Najib applied for leave to cite Ahmad Terrirudin for contempt of court on claims that the former AG had misled the court and suppressed the copy of the purported addendum order that would allow him to serve the remainder of his prison time under house arrest.
The application for leave to cite Ahmad Terrirudin for contempt is linked to Najib’s application for leave to commence judicial review over the addendum order.
On Aug 13, the Federal Court upheld a 2-1 majority decision by the Court of Appeal, instructing that Najib’s judicial review application on the addendum order be remitted to the High Court for a full hearing.
Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1 last year.
He named the Home Minister, Commissioner General of Prisons, AG, Federal Territories Pardons Board, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), 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 that all of the respondents or one of them answer and verify the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29 last year.
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 the Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur, to serve his remaining sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case under house arrest.
