Najib’s purported house arrest order: High court rejects Malaysian minister’s bid to ‘correct certain errors’

SINGAPORE: Malaysia’s High Court has refused to allow a Cabinet minister to file an affidavit to “correct certain errors” concerning the purported royal order allowing jailed former premier Najib Razak to serve out his sentence under house arrest.

This is because Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is not a party to Najib’s bid for a judicial review to compel the government to produce the purported order, news outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported on Thursday (May 2).

FMT quoted senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, who appeared for the government.

Mr Tengku Zafrul was named in Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s affidavit supporting Najib’s court bid. Mr Ahmad Zahid claimed that Mr Tengku Zafrul had shown him a copy of a royal order approving the house arrest.

Mr Tengkul Zafrul then issued a statement disputing the claims as having “certain factual errors” and said that he would be “taking steps to obtain appropriate legal advice”.

In rejecting Mr Tengku Zafrul’s application to file an affidavit, however, the court said he and his lawyers could try again if Najib is given leave to pursue his legal challenge. According to news site The Vibes, the matter was heard in the chamber of civil court judge Amarjeet Singh.

Najib is seeking the court’s approval to start legal proceedings against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration. He wants the Anwar administration to produce the addendum order reportedly issued by Malaysia’s former king Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang that allows him to serve the remainder of his reduced six-year sentence at home.

The former king had halved Najib’s 12-year jail term for corruption and cut his RM210 million (US$44.16 million) fine cut to RM50 million in one of his last official tasks before stepping down on Jan 30.

The court is set to decide on Jun 5 whether Najib can start the legal proceedings.

If Najib is successful in his bid, it will be difficult for Mr Anwar to explain why his administration chose not to disclose the addendum order previously, CNA previously reported.

Mr Anwar had previously said that the decision for Najib’s house arrest is under the jurisdiction of the Pardons Board and the king.

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