KUALA LUMPUR — The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has requested for the High Court here to issue a prohibitive and gag order disallowing the public, including lawmakers, from talking about the ongoing case regarding a royal addendum on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s home imprisonment.
According to Najib’s defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, AGC representatives had raised the matter during court proceedings today, which were held in chambers before Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz.
The judge had ordered the AGC to submit its request via a written application, Shafee told reporters outside the courtroom, adding that Najib’s legal team will oppose the application because the addendum order was a public interest issue.
“Everybody has discussed (the issue of the royal addendum). What is the point in closing the door after the horses have bolted? Even the prime minister has discussed the matter a lot more than everyone else.”
The lawyer also said the AGC had objected to the appearance of legal practitioners appointed to keep a watching brief for MPs from opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) throughout the hearing.
“There was also no opposition from the AGC when the Court of Appeal allowed the lawyers to appear as a watching brief then,” he noted.
Lawyers who have applied to to hold watchings brief for PN include its chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who pointed out that the addendum issue was previously addressed in Parliament by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Takiyuddin, who also spoke to the media outside the courtroom, said the AGC’s bid for a gag order was also why Chambers did not want watching briefs allowed.
“Today, they (AGC) suddenly wants to apply for a prohibitive order to prevent anyone, including MPs, from discussing this issue of public interest. This is why they have objected to our appointment for watching briefs (when) it was not objected to before this.
“(Another watching brief lawyer) Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun also objected to the proposed (prohibitive and gag) order (by questioning) how MPs can be prohibited from discussing the matter in Parliament,” said Takiyuddin, who is also the PAS secretary-general.
Azhar was formerly Dewan Rakyat Speaker and Election Commission Chairman. According to Bernama, a third lawyer, Datuk Seri Zulkifli Noordin, had also applied to hold a watching brief on behalf of PN leaders.
Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan confirmed the AGC’s request for a gag order, and that the judge had directed the government to file a formal application by January 20, following which Najib will be given a week to reply.
“We applied for the order and asked that it remain in force pending the outcome of the hearing as it touches on sensitive issues,” Shamsul was quoted saying by media.
Shamsul also said the government will oppose requests of lawyers to hold watching briefs on behalf of PN figures, saying the court had ordered those parties to formally apply for the watching brief by Jan 27, after which the government must file an affidavit in reply by Feb 10.
Shafee meanwhile, added that he would be submitting a fresh affidavit within a week, with the legal testimony to outline latest developments, including the prime minister’s confirmation of the addendum’s existence.
The hearing today also saw the court allocating six weeks from today for the plaintiff and respondents to submit affidavits, affidavits-in-reply and other relevant documents.
Case management has been set for March 11 via e-review.
On January 11, Anwar revealed that the royal addendum providing for Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house imprisonment was sent directly to the AG and neither he nor the Pardons Board saw it. The order was then sent back to the Istana Negara after Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar became the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Anwar added had said in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
The attorney general then was Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh.
The purported addendum was dated January 29, 2024, when Pahang ruler Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was in his final days of the end of his term of office as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on January 30, 2024, after which Sultan Ibrahim of Johor took over as the King.
On January 6, the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s decision denying Najib’s bid for judicial review proceedings aimed at compelling the government to confirm the addendum’s existence and place him under house arrest in line with the terms of the supplementary order.
At that time, Shafee had submitted to the appellate court a letter, addressed to Najib’s son Datuk Mohamad Nizar Najib, from the comptroller of the Pahang royal household confirming the existence of the addendum from Al-Sultan Abdullah.
During submissions, Court of Appeal judge Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril highlighted that there was no affidavit filed by the government to challenge the existence of the royal order, saying: “It is as though you acknowledge the existence of this addendum. The absence of any action to challenge the addendum’s existence disturbs me.”
Four days later, the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister’s Department confirmed that no additional documents related to Najib’s pardon application are present in its files or official records.
The division – acting as the secretariat for the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya – also clarified that it had not received any official notifications or directives from the Palace regarding the matter. – January 13, 2025
