Sempurnakan pelepasan, bawa persoalan ke mahkamah, tegas peguam Najib

Umno has recently stated that the party has cleared a RM50 million fine imposed on former President Najib Razak. The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) does not have the authority to delay the royal pardon, and any issues concerning the court order should be taken to the court, says Najib Razak's lawyer. Shafee & Co, the law firm, urges the prison commissioner to finalize their client's release to serve their sentence at home without handcuffs again.

The lawyer further states that the AGC cannot keep their client in Kajang Prison and adds that Najib's residence was photographed today as a prison. Moving their client there does not remove him from custody; it merely transfers him from one photographed prison to another. He emphasizes that the move is in line with the Agong's decree.

He also mentions that every condition set by the Agong has been met, and there is no legal basis for their client to remain in Kajang Prison for a few more days. Previously, the AGC argued that performing house arrest on the former Umno president should be postponed temporarily until further investigation and clarification regarding the conditional pardon and the implications of the 'order of discharge' are completed.

The AGC said the house arrest of Najib should be postponed until the matter of the remaining prison sentence for the SRC International case is resolved, especially regarding the court order that stated the 1MDB case imprisonment must begin after the SRC International case prison sentence is completed. However, Najib Razak's lawyer says two interpretations raised by the AGC regarding the impact of the royal pardon, but the AGC does not have the right to refuse to carry out the terms of a royal pardon while it continues to investigate.

Najib Razak's lawyer sees the AGC's statement as a bypass of the Agong's decree, stating that there is nothing in the statement that can serve as the basis for continuing to keep their client in Kajang Prison. He adds that the AGC's reference to the 1MDB case does not change anything and has no connection with the AGC's duty to carry out the royal pardon in the SRC case.

Najib Razak's lawyer urges the attorney-general to retract the AGC's statement outright. Meanwhile, Najib Razak's lawyer says the attorney-general is a member of the pardon body and should raise concerns about the terms of the royal pardon in the Sept 18 meeting where advice was given to the Agong based on the pardon terms. Instead, the AGC raised the issue for the first time only after the fine was paid, he says.

The development follows a statement by Najib Razak's lawyer Farhan Shafee that the High Court issued a home arrest order for his client following the RM50 million fine payment. Umno had previously stated that the party had cleared the fine imposed on its former president. Najib was imprisoned in August 2022 after the Federal Court upheld a conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving SRC International's RM42 million.

He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a RM210 million fine. In January 2024, the royal pardon reduced his sentence by half, and the fine was reduced to RM50 million. In September, another conditional pardon was given to Najib, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until 23 August 2028, provided he pays the remaining RM50 million fine and complies with the set conditions.