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THE government will apply for a gag and prohibitive order to refrain the public from discussing issues about a purported addendum allowing Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
According to senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, this was because the matter involved sensitive matters.
However, he said the former prime minister's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, objected to the move.
"The matter had been discussed in the open, including by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and is of public interest," he said.
Following that, Judge Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz told Shamsul to file a formal application for the prohibitive and gag order by Jan 20.
On Jan 6, the Court of Appeal through a 2-1 majority granted leave for Najib’s judicial review application, to compel the government to produce the purported addendum dated Jan 29, 2024, allowing him to serve the sentence under house arrest and for the respondents to comply with the order.
Najib was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former unit of sovereign investment fund 1MDB, and sentenced initially to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million.
His jail term was later halved to six years and his fine reduced to RM50 million, but he has continued to challenge the sentence, claiming to have received a royal decree that would allow him to serve the remainder of his penalty at home instead of Kajang Prison. - January 13, 2025