PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak is one step closer in his bid to prove the existence of a royal addendum order from the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong that would allow him to serve the remainder of his jail time under house arrest.
In a split 2-1 decision, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s dismissal of his application for leave to initiate judicial review over his claims on the addendum order.
The matter must now be remitted to the High Court for a full hearing on the merits.
Justice Mohd Firuz Jaffril, who read the majority decision, said the issue of hearsay could no longer stand with the new evidence adduced in a supporting affidavit filed by Najib’s son, Datuk Mohamad Nizar Najib.
He said a judicial review application only needed to show that the applicant has a case to argue, premised on the fact that the applicant’s interests or rights had been aggrieved and that the application was not frivolous or vexatious.
“We are therefore minded to allow this appeal. We order the case to be remitted to the High Court for the hearing of the substantive judicial review,” Justice Mohd Firuz said yesterday.
Another judge who made up the majority decision was Justice Azhahari Kamal Ramli.
The court also allowed Najib’s application to adduce new evidence in the form of a letter from the Pahang Sultanate Council, which is now admissible through Mohamad Nizar’s supporting affidavit.
On this matter, Justice Mohd Firuz said the court relied on the principles in the Ladd v Marshall case.
He noted that it was the appellant’s (Najib) case that they could not procure the said addendum document for the purpose of the judicial review application.
Najib had written to the six respondents in his application seeking to confirm the existence of the addendum order, but was met with cold treatment.
Post judgment of the High Court, Mohamad Nizar then obtained a copy of the addendum order from the office of the Sultan of Pahang on Aug 17, 2024, with strict instructions that the document should not be used without consent.
“The applicant then sought permission from the Sultan to use the addendum in his affidavit for the purpose of the appeal.
“Having received the consent from HRH Sultan of Pahang on Dec 2, 2024, the applicant then filed the said addendum in the court.
“Without the consent, it was not possible for the applicant to file the addendum, nor can the applicant compel the Sultan to furnish the said addendum,” said Justice Mohd Firuz.
The court then fixed Jan 13 for case management at the High Court.
Justice Azizah Nawawi, who chaired the three-judge panel, held the dissenting judgment.
Najib filed the application for leave for judicial review on April 1, 2024.
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), director-general of the legal affairs at the Prime Minister’s Department and the government as the first until the seventh respondents respectively.In the notice of application, Najib sought a mandamus order that all of the respondents or one of them to answer and verify the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024.
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 Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur, where he would serve his remaining sentence under house arrest.
On July 4, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed Najib’s application for leave, citing hearsay in supporting affidavits.
This prompted Najib to appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal.
