KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has set Nov 11 to deliver its decision on the Malaysian Bar's application for leave to commence a judicial review challenging the Pardons Board's decision to reduce Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s prison sentence and fine in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid scheduled the date after hearing submissions from the former prime minister’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and former Malaysian Bar president Datuk Zainur Zakaria representing the statutory body.
"The decision will be delivered on Nov 11 at 9am in an open court,” said the judge.
Earlier, Muhammad Shafee submitted that the Malaysian Bar has no locus standi to initiate legal action against the Pardons Board's decision as his client's pardon was a private affair with no legal repercussions for members of the Bar or the public at large.
He argued that a pardon is typically an act of clemency granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, absolving an individual from legal consequences.
"In this case, the pardon does not impose any obligations or adverse effects on the applicant (Malaysian Bar) or any of its 20,000 members. Consequently, the applicant’s challenge, lacking any direct impact on their legal rights or interests, should be dismissed on this basis alone.
"The application before this honourable court is clearly frivolous and vexatious in nature because the decision of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is non-justiciable and the orders prayed for are made in bad faith,” said the senior counsel.
Muhammad Shafee also alleged that the Malaysian Bar lacked the necessary quorum of members at its 78th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 16 when it passed a motion to file the legal challenge.
He said that under Section 64(4) of the Legal Profession Act 1976, a quorum of 500 members is required for an AGM, but by 10am on the said date, this quorum had not been achieved.
In response, Zainur countered that the AGM was valid as there had been no court ruling to declare it otherwise.
On April 26, the Malaysian Bar filed an application for leave to commence a judicial review, naming the Pardons Board of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya, as well as Najib, as respondents.
It is seeking a declaration that the Jan 29 Pardons Board's decision to halve Najib's prison sentence, which would result in an early release on Aug 23, 2028, is illegal, unconstitutional and invalid.
It is also seeking a declaration that the Pardons Board's decision to reduce Najib's fine from RM210mil to RM50mil, with the condition that failure to settle it would extend his prison term by a year, resulting in early release on Aug 23, 2029, is illegal, unconstitutional and invalid.
Najib, 70, has been serving his sentence in Kajang Prison since Aug 23, 2022, after being convicted of misappropriating RM42mil from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
He filed a petition for a royal pardon on Sept 2, 2022, resulting in the Pardons Board halving his prison sentence from 12 years to six years and reducing the fine from RM210mil to RM50mil. - Bernama
