Former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has recently submitted a judicial review application to the Kuala Lumpur High Court. He hopes to secure an addendum order from former King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, as informed by local media. If granted, the order would let Najib serve his six-year sentence under house arrest.
In his application, Najib states that the former king issued the addendum order on January 29, a day before his last day in office. He alleges that the government failed to execute this order, which he describes as contemptuous. Furthermore, he mentions that his lawyer penned a letter to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirming the order’s issuance, but hasn’t received responses from both officials thus far.
Previously granted a royal pardon by then-King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah on January 31, Najib’s original 12-year sentence for corruption, embezzlement, and money laundering was halved. His imposed fine was also reduced to 50 million ringgit ($10.6 million) from 210 million ringgit. Najib had received these sentences on July 28, 2020, for power abuse, three Criminal Breach of Trust charges under Section 408 of the Malaysian Penal Code, and three money-laundering charges. All sentences were to be served concurrently, as specified in his sentencing documents.
It’s worth noting that each Malaysian state appoints its own pardons board by their respective sultans or governors, whereas the king appoints the members for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya. The king of Malaysia can also issue royal pardons for offenses committed within the federal territories, according to Article 42(1) of Malaysia’s Federal Constitution.
Najib started serving his initial 12-year prison sentence on August 23, 2022, following the rejection of his appeals. Currently, he’s facing three more ongoing criminal cases that encompass 25 counts of abuse of power and money laundering, as well as six charges for misappropriating public funds.
The court has set the hearing for Najib’s application on April 17.