Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar has questioned whether sufficient care was taken when preparing the court documents relating to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s proposed house arrest arrangement.
According to Berita Harian, Mohd Dusuki said the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s release order concerning Najib’s remaining prison sentence in the SRC International case contained obvious defects.
He said such mistakes should not have occurred if those responsible had carefully checked every detail before preparing the documents.
“The defects recorded in the document were extremely obvious and should never have appeared in our judicial system. The mistake was clear and had created unnecessary problems,” he was quoted as saying.
The alleged defects, which have drawn questions from members of the legal fraternity, reportedly involved the accuracy of the legal terminology and provisions cited in the court document.
The document was issued by the Kuala Lumpur High Court after Najib settled his RM50 million fine, which was raised and paid through a solidarity fund initiated by Umno.
However, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) subsequently applied to the court to temporarily defer the implementation of Najib’s house arrest arrangement while seeking further clarification on the interpretation of his conditional pardon order.
The move drew criticism from Istana Negara, which said arguments challenging Najib’s conditional pardon order amounted to disobeying the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The palace stressed that all conditions stipulated in the conditional pardon had been fulfilled and that its implementation should not result in confusion or prolonged uncertainty.
It also maintained that the pardon order was clear and unambiguous, and was unrelated to other cases faced by Najib.
When asked about his reported audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Mohd Dusuki declined to comment further.
However, a source reportedly said the audience was likely to take place next Tuesday.
Najib, 73, was convicted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28, 2020, on all seven charges involving the misappropriation of RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million, and was taken to Kajang Prison on the same day to begin serving his sentence.
After pursuing several legal avenues to challenge his conviction and secure his release, Najib also submitted a clemency petition to the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah.
On Feb 2, 2024, the Pardons Board approved a reduction of his prison sentence by half, from 12 years to six years, making him eligible for release on Aug 23, 2028. His fine was also reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
On Sept 18 this year, Najib received a conditional pardon from the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of the RM50 million fine.
