AGC accused of changing its tune over Najib’s house arrest

A lawyer representing Najib Razak has claimed that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) is shifting the goalposts at the eleventh hour regarding the implementation of the house arrest order for the former prime minister.

Farhan Shafee said Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar’s statement yesterday demonstrated a shift in position from the AGC’s earlier media statement, which had caused confusion.

“So, which is it? Is the AGC saying that there are two possible interpretations or that the order itself is defective? These are two different complaints, each with its own remedy.

“It is difficult for us to provide a precise answer when the party making these statements keeps moving the goalposts and changing its position,” Berita Harian reported him saying.

Farhan also said the order of discharge issued by the Kuala Lumpur High Court clearly stated that the RM50 million fine had been paid and that the remainder of Najib’s sentence was to be served under house arrest in accordance with the conditional pardon.

“There is nothing in the order that requires interpretation,” he said, adding that all parties should understand that court orders in criminal cases are prepared and issued by the court itself, unlike in civil cases where they are prepared by the defence.

Yesterday, Dusuki questioned the care taken in preparing court documents relating to the implementation of Najib’s house arrest order.

He said there were “obvious” defects in the order of discharge relating to the former prime minister’s sentence in the SRC International corruption case.

The alleged defects, which raised questions among legal practitioners, reportedly involve the accuracy of the terminology and legal provisions used in the document.

The High Court issued the order of discharge after the RM50 million fine imposed on the former Umno president was paid through a solidarity fund launched by the party, paving the way for him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

However, the AGC subsequently moved to defer the implementation of Najib’s house arrest pending a review of the conditional pardon and order of discharge. It said these issues involved “complex legal questions” that had implications for the execution of the royal pardon and a court order.

The AGC said its request was not an attempt to dispute the conditional pardon, but to clarify the legal effect of the discharge order.

Its decision drew criticism from Istana Negara, which said any arguments challenging the conditional pardon order for Najib amounted to defying the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree.

Istana Negara maintained that the pardon order was clear, explicit and unambiguous, and had no bearing on any other cases faced by Najib.

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