KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyers representing Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak have urged the Prisons Department to immediately transfer the former prime minister from Kajang Prison to his residence in Taman Duta, following a decree by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
The legal team from Messrs Shafee & Co said the decree issued by Sultan Ibrahim at 11.45am reaffirmed that the conditional pardon order dated Sept 18, 2026, was clear and unambiguous.
The lawyers said His Majesty had confirmed that all conditions stipulated in the pardon order had been fulfilled.
"The King had stated that the order was not connected to any other cases involving Najib.
"The decree addressed all the questions raised by the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC)," they said in a statement on Saturday (Nov 7).
The lawyers argued that the High Court's Order of Discharge on Payment of Fine, issued on Nov 6 following the payment of the RM50mil fine, could not override or alter the King's decree.
"The payment of a fine discharges the liability to pay that fine. It cannot, by itself, terminate a sentence of imprisonment," the statement said.
The lawyers added that the same court order also recorded that Najib was to serve his sentence under house arrest in accordance with the Conditional Pardon Order, which they said had been acknowledged by the AGC on Nov 6.
They further maintained that the power to grant pardons under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution was the exclusive prerogative of His Majesty.
"No court, much less the Attorney General, is entitled to reopen the manner in which His Majesty exercised that power after receiving the advice of the Pardons Board, which the Attorney General himself actively participated in," the statement said.
The legal team also criticised the AGC for issuing another media statement at 12.42pm on Saturday, 57 minutes after the King's decree, without making any reference to it.
They said the AGC had yet to withdraw its Nov 6 statement announcing a temporary suspension of the implementation process.
At the time their statement was issued, Najib remained at Kajang Prison, with the lawyers claiming that the King's decree had yet to be implemented.
The lawyers said the AGC's declaration that it remained committed to upholding and implementing the King's decree could only be demonstrated by allowing the order to take effect immediately.
They also described the AGC's latest statement as an apparent act of defiance against the King's decree.
"We urge the Commissioner-General of Prisons to immediately transfer our client to his residence at No. 11, Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur, as decreed by His Majesty," they said.
The legal team also called on the AGC to immediately withdraw the temporary suspension, insisting that the King's order must be implemented on Saturday.
They added that Najib's position on the full legal implications of the Conditional Pardon Order and his sentence, as well as all his legal rights, remained reserved.
