Najib's Langgak Duta home quiet amid house arrest delay

KUALA LUMPUR: There was little activity at former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, this morning amid developments over his house arrest.

A two-hour observation beginning at 8am found no vehicles entering or leaving the residence.

Several media personnel were seen waiting at the residential area, although some had since left.

The situation follows a statement by the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) yesterday, which said the implementation of Najib's house arrest should be temporarily suspended to allow legal issues surrounding the interpretation of his conditional pardon to be clarified.

The suspension is intended to ensure that the pardon and court orders are implemented in accordance with the correct legal position.

Following the statement, law firm Shafee & Co, which represents Najib, objected to the suspension and maintained that all conditions of the conditional pardon had been fulfilled.

The firm said there was no legal basis to continue holding Najib at Kajang Prison after the fine had been paid and the court order issued.

The lawyers also urged the Prisons Department to expedite the implementation of Najib's house arrest and called on the A-GC to withdraw its statement on the suspension.

Najib, 73, settled the RM50 million fine in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case after the funds were raised through the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund established by Umno.

Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki confirmed the payment after the matter was completed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday.

Najib's lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, later confirmed that the court had issued a house arrest order following the payment of the fine.

He said the order would be delivered to Kajang Prison for further action, adding that several processes still needed to be completed.

In a related development, Najib's residence in Jalan Langgak Duta was also gazetted as a prison under Section 3 of the Prisons Act 1995, effective yesterday.

The gazettement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail covers the building and land area of the residence, measuring 4,558.975 square metres.