[UPDATED] Najib's lawyers accuse A-GC of disregarding King's order, demand immediate house arrest

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's lawyers have accused the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) of disregarding the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's order by delaying his transfer to house arrest.

Messrs Shafee and Co demanded that Najib be transferred immediately to his Taman Duta residence, maintaining that the conditions imposed under his conditional royal pardon had been fulfilled.

"We view the A-GC Statement as a disregard of His Majesty's order. Nothing in it provides any basis for keeping our client in Kajang Prison," the firm said in a statement.

"We therefore demand that our client be released immediately into house arrest at his residence, as His Majesty has ordered and the High Court has directed."

The lawyers argued that the A-GC had no legal authority to suspend a royal pardon or a sealed court order through a media statement.

"The Attorney General has no power of stay of His Majesty's royal prerogative of pardon," they said.

They maintained that any legal questions surrounding the High Court's orders should be referred to the court rather than used to delay Najib's transfer.

"If the A-GC has a real question over the Orders, its remedy is an application to the High Court, not a media statement," they said.

The legal team also accused the A-GC of raising questions over the conditional pardon only after Najib's RM50 million fine was paid, despite having seven weeks to seek clarification.

It claimed that the Attorney General had previously indicated that payment of the fine was the only outstanding requirement for Najib's house arrest.

The lawyers also noted that the Attorney General was a member of the Pardons Board and had attended its Sept 18 meeting, which advised the King on Najib's conditional pardon.

They argued that any concerns over the terms of the pardon should have been raised at that meeting.

The firm further alleged that the A-GC's position amounted to executive overreach and could constitute contempt or even treason against the King.

The lawyers demanded that the Attorney-General withdraw the A-GC statement immediately and called on the Commissioner General of Prisons to complete Najib's transfer without delay.

They also argued that keeping Najib at Kajang Prison on the basis of the A-GC statement would contravene Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution.

Earlier today, Umno paid Najib's RM50 million fine at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, fulfilling a condition of the royal pardon granted by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim on Sept 18.

The pardon allows Najib to serve the remainder of his SRC International prison sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to compliance with stipulated conditions.

However, the A-GC subsequently called for the implementation of house arrest to be temporarily deferred pending clarification of legal questions surrounding the pardon and the effect of the High Court's orders.

The A-GC said two possible interpretations had arisen over whether payment of the fine meant Najib's prison sentence remained in force or had been completed.

It said the distinction could affect the commencement of his separate prison sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case.

The A-GC maintained that the proposed deferment was not intended to challenge or set aside the King's decree, but to ensure that the pardon and related court orders were implemented correctly.

Najib has been serving his SRC International sentence since Aug 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million.

He was originally sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and fined RM210 million, but the Pardons Board reduced his sentence to six years and the fine to RM50 million in 2024.