Former prime minister Najib Razak will be filing an appeal after the High Court today rejected his bid to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.
The decision means Najib will continue serving his six-year prison term at Kajang Prison, with no change to his current incarceration status.
High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching ruled that the alleged addendum order said to have been issued by the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong was invalid and could not be enforced.
According to the judge, the addendum order failed to comply with Article 42 of the Federal Constitution, which governs the exercise of royal pardons.
She said the order had neither been deliberated nor approved during the 61st Pardons Board meeting.
“The addendum order was not deliberated nor decided in the 61st Pardons Board meeting. There was no compliance with Article 42, consequently it is not a valid order,” she said.
As a result, the judge added that the Malaysian government has no legal obligation to carry out or enforce the alleged house arrest order.
Immediately after the ruling was delivered, Najib’s lead defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed the court that his client would be appealing against the High Court’s decision.
With the appeal now confirmed, the case is expected to move to the next stage of legal proceedings, where the validity of the alleged addendum order may be re-examined by a higher court.
