Najib attends High Court hearing as AGC seeks review of house arrest order

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak attends a High Court proceeding here on Tuesday as the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) seeks a review of the house arrest order issued last Friday.

The 73-year-old former Pekan MP, dressed in a blue kurta, arrived at the court at 3.08pm accompanied by officers from the Malaysian Prisons Department.

His daughter, Nooryana Najwa, was also present.

The AGC filed an application on Tuesday to review the order issued on Nov 6.

The department also sought a new order in accordance with the conditional pardon granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Sept 18.

The prosecution, as the applicant, was represented by Kuala Lumpur Prosecution Director Datuk Mohd Nordin Ismail, Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi and Deputy Public Prosecutors Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib, Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam, Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry and Siti Pervinah Mohamad Yusof.

Najib, as the respondent, was represented by lawyers Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee.

In the application filed on Nov 10, the AGC asked the court to review the order to ensure its implementation was consistent with the pardon granted to the former Pekan MP.

On Nov 6, Najib was reported to have paid the RM50 million fine at the High Court's revenue and deposit payment counter here to enable him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

However, he was returned to Kajang Prison after undergoing a medical examination at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

The AGC had earlier stated that the implementation of the house arrest arrangement was temporarily postponed pending further clarification on the interpretation of the Conditional Pardon Order granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The latest development followed remarks by Mohd Dusuki, who had previously raised concerns over alleged defects in the release order.

He said proper scrutiny when preparing official documents was important to prevent disputes, particularly those involving the accuracy of legal terminology.

On July 28, 2020, the High Court sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power involving RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Najib began serving his prison sentence at Kajang Prison on Aug 23, 2022, before submitting a pardon petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Sept 2 that year.

On Sept 18, he received a conditional pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, which allowed him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.

According to the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister's Department, the conditional pardon was subject to the payment of a RM50 million fine.