Malaysian Home Minister denies knowledge of 'addendum' on house arrest for former PM Najib
PUTRAJAYA — Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Thursday (April 4) that he is not aware of a purported “supplementary order” from Malaysia’s previous king, for former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest.
Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail speaking during press conference in Putrajaya on April 4,2024.
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PUTRAJAYA — Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on Thursday (April 4) that he is not aware of a purported “supplementary order” from Malaysia’s previous king, for former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest.
However, Mr Saifuddin said he received a letter from Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah a few days ago.
“I have no knowledge of it. He (Shafee) mentioned specifically about the addendum and then he sent a letter to me, you know, so as of now, I can say clearly that I do not know about it,” he said during a press conference at his ministry here.
Mr Saifuddin said he will respond to the letter accordingly when the time is right.
“I have received a letter from Tan Sri Shafee in the past few days. Today I followed the report on addendum and all sorts of things. Of course, I will respond accordingly when the time comes because in our knowledge, so far, I can comment that I have received a letter,” he said.
He added that the letter contains the same content as what was read in the court.
On Wednesday, Najib applied to the High Court to compel the federal government and the Pardons Board to produce a purported “supplementary order” from the previous king.
In his application for leave to seek judicial review filed on April 1, Najib claimed Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah issued the order during the Jan 29 meeting of the Board, for Najib to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest.
Al-Sultan Abdullah of Pahang reigned for five years as Malaysia’s 16th king until Jan 30, after ascending the federal throne on Jan 31, 2019.
Najib claimed that while the supplementary order or Addendum Order was made on Jan 29, it was omitted when his partial pardon was announced on Feb 2.
In the application, Najib alleged that he received confirmation on Feb 12 about the issuance of the Addendum Order, which would allow him to serve his reduced prison sentence under the condition of "home arrest” instead of at Kajang Prison.
Najib’s application is set to be heard before High Court judge Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh on April 4. MALAY MAIL
