On Feb 2, the Federal Territories Pardons Board halved Najib’s prison sentence in his SRC International case from 12 years to six and reduced his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Najib, 70, is currently serving his sentence at Kajang prison and is to be released on Aug 23, 2028.
In his application filed on April 1, Najib claimed that the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, had issued the “supplementary decree” during the board’s meeting on Jan 29, a day before his term ended.
“However, the ‘addendum order’ (supplementary decree) was not announced by the board on Feb 2,” Najib alleged.
He said his lawyers had written to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said to confirm whether the supplementary decree existed.
“The requests went unanswered,” Najib claimed.
“The respondents’ failure to confirm the existence of the supplementary decree and the applicant’s (Najib) request to be served with it, along with the subsequent inaction by the prisons department to execute the said decree, is irrational.”
Najib also alleged that the government was in contempt for not executing the supplementary decree.
The former Umno president also wants the Kuala Lumpur High Court to compel the government to execute the supplementary decree – if it is true – to place him under house arrest.
Justice Amarjeet Singh is set to hear his application to commence the legal challenge tomorrow.
Each state has its own pardons board which is appointed by the respective sultan or governor. The only exception is the federal territories, where members are appointed by the king.
The Federal Territories Pardons Board is headed by the king and consists of five members – the attorney-general, federal territories minister and a maximum of three others appointed by the king.
Najib, who has three other criminal cases which are ongoing, began his initial 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022 following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal.
He was tried before Justice Nazlan Ghazali (now a Court of Appeal judge) in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
On July 28, 2020, he was convicted on all counts and sentenced to a 12-year jail term on each charge. Nazlan ordered that the jail terms run concurrently.
Najib’s conviction and sentence were subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021.
On Aug 23 the following year, a five-member panel of the Federal Court, chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, dismissed his final appeal. The apex court also ordered Najib to begin his term of imprisonment immediately.