Justice Alice Loke said that under Section 43 of the Prisons Act 1995, the discretion to allow a person to serve a sentence under house arrest lies solely with the commissioner-general of prisons.

“The addendum order removes that discretion and is therefore inconsistent with the statutory framework,” she said in her ruling today.

She said the addendum order was not deliberated or decided at the 61st Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB) meeting, nor was there any compliance with Article 42 of the constitution.

The article in question grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the prerogative to grant pardons on the advice of the pardons board.

Loke also said the order was not valid, and that the respondents had neither power nor duty to obey or enforce it.

She also ruled that the applicant’s argument – that the king was not obliged to make decisions during the FTPB meeting – had no legal basis and was untenable.

Najib, 72, was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds and has been serving his sentence at Kajang prison since Aug 23, 2022.

In 2024, the FTPB halved his prison term from 12 years to six and reduced his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.

A judicial review was filed last year seeking to compel the government to execute the addendum, or supplementary decree, to place him under house arrest.

In March, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said told the Dewan Rakyat that the Prisons Act empowered the home minister to declare any home, building, or place a “prison” for the purpose of incarceration.