KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has denied former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s request to initiate a judicial review over his claim of a royal order allowing house arrest during his jail sentence, citing hearsay in supporting affidavits.
Justice Amarjeet Singh ruled that four affidavits relied upon by Najib did not verify the material facts stated in his application for leave to commence a judicial review over the existence of an alleged royal supplementary order permitting his house arrest.
“As such, there can be no arguable case for further investigation at the substantive stage,” the judge said here yesterday.
The supporting affidavits in question were Affidavits 1 and 2 (affirmed by Najib), Affidavit 3 (affirmed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) and Affidavit 4 (affirmed by Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail).
In Ahmad Zahid’s affidavit, the Umno president stated that he was informed by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz of the existence of the addendum order on Jan 30.
He claimed that Tengku Zafrul had told him the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong had shown him the addendum order and that Tengku Zafrul had taken a photograph of it.
“The averments of Ahmad Zahid were also pure hearsay as the source of the information and his belief was Tengku Zafrul.
“Ahmad Zahid himself has no knowledge of the addendum order except what he heard from Tengku Zafrul,” Justice Amarjeet said.
On Wan Rosdy’s affidavit, the judge was also of the opinion that it was hearsay.
On Najib’s two affidavits, he said both affidavits contained bare statements without mentioning the source or his belief in the existence of the addendum order.
“I find that both affidavits are, at their highest, pure hearsay. Apart from that, the applicant had averred that his solicitors had written to the respondents concerning the same without receiving a reply.
“The applicant relied on the source, Tengku Zafrul, but the source did not affirm any affidavit. There is also no explanation forthcoming as to this fact,” he said, adding that the source, Tengku Zafrul, was “available but not used”.
“Tengku Zafrul had attempted to file an affidavit, but this court denied him as the law does not allow him to do so at the leave stage,” he added.
The court also found that Najib had failed to meet the threshold of a mandamus order.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told reporters he had received instructions from his client to file an appeal against the court’s decision. Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1.
He named the Home Minister, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, the Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the director-general of legal affairs at the Prime Minister’s Department, and the government as the first to seventh respondents, respectively.
Najib is seeking a mandamus order where, if the addendum order exists, all or one of the respondents must execute the royal order and immediately move him from the Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur, where he would serve his remaining sentence under house arrest.
Following Najib’s application, Ahmad Zahid affirmed a supporting affidavit on April 9, claiming that the addendum order existed and that he was shown the document by Tengku Zafrul at his (Ahmad Zahid’s) house in Country Heights on Jan 30.
Ahmad Zahid said Tengku Zafrul showed him a copy of the addendum order on his (Tengku Zafrul’s) phone, which he personally photographed or scanned from an original copy as shown to him by the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
On May 21, Wan Rosdy affirmed his affidavit, in which he also claimed that he was told about the royal addendum order by Tengku Zafrul late in the afternoon on Jan 30.
Tengku Zafrul had attempted to seek leave to file his own affidavit, which he claimed would correct “factual inaccuracies” in Ahmad Zahid’s affidavit, but his application was dismissed by the same High Court on May 2.
