AGC finally confirms royal order on Najib’s house arrest in ongoing appeal

AGC finally confirms royal order on Najib’s house arrest in ongoing appeal



Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah arrives at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya on July 9, 2025. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

Wednesday, 09 Jul 2025 3:07 PM MYT


PUTRAJAYA, July 9 — The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) today conceded the existence of an addendum or “supplementary order” issued by a former King permitting Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest.

The confirmation came during today’s Federal Court hearing on the AGC’s appeal against a lower court decision to grant Najib leave to proceed with his court case seeking house arrest.

A three-judge panel chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim earlier asked senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan to confirm the AGC’s position on the existence of the addendum.

“Yes, I confirm that,” he said.


Earlier, Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argued that the AGC, as a public authority, should have been candid about the addendum’s existence.


“As a respondent, they have got to have a duty of candour to disclose the addendum order.

“They know it exists but they are folding their arms and saying ‘prove it’,” he said.


He said the AGC had objected to Najib’s application for leave on the grounds that the supporting affidavits were hearsay evidence; that the addendum order purportedly did not exist; and for being frivolous.

Shamsul said, however, that the AGC was instead challenging the procedure by which the supplementary order is being submitted as new evidence in Najib’s ongoing judicial review application.

Datuk Muhammad Nizar, Najib’s son and a Pahang state exco member, had only managed to obtain an original unsigned copy from the Pahang palace, with strict instructions that it should not be used without the Sultan’s consent — the very same document now being submitted as new evidence in the form of an affidavit.

In Nizar’s affidavit, he claimed the Comptroller of the Sultan of Pahang’s royal household, Datuk Ahmad Khirrizal Ab Rahman, had confirmed the existence of the addendum order and verified its authenticity.

The court later adjourned the hearing, with parties to be informed of the decision at a later date.

In a 2-1 majority decision on Jan 6, the Court of Appeal remitted the case on Najib’s claim of the existence of an additional document — purportedly allowing him to serve the remainder of his six-year prison sentence under house arrest — to the High Court to be heard on its merits.

In April 2024, Najib filed for judicial review at the High Court seeking an order for the federal government and the Pardons Board to confirm the existence of the house arrest addendum.

In his leave application, Najib claimed Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah issued the order during the Pardons Board’s meeting on January 29, 2024, allowing him to serve the rest of his reduced sentence under house arrest.

Najib also alleged that he received confirmation on February 12, 2024, about the issuance of the “supplementary order” or addendum order, which would allow him to serve his reduced prison sentence at home instead of in Kajang Prison, where he is currently housed.

He also wanted the High Court to order the Malaysian government to enforce the addendum by removing him from Kajang Prison and allowing him to serve out the remainder of his jail sentence at his Kuala Lumpur residence.

With the judicial review application, Najib needed the court’s permission for his challenge to be heard, which the High Court denied last year.

The AGC’s appeal at the Federal Court is crucial as it will determine if Najib can proceed with the judicial review that could ultimately allow him to be put under house arrest

On February 2, 2024, the Pardons Board halved Najib’s sentence to six years for misappropriating RM42 million, meaning he could be released as early as August 23, 2028.

Najib has been imprisoned since August 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering involving funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd.