Agong's addendum invalid, rules court in blow to Najib's bid for house arrest

Najib Razak lost his bid to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest after the Kuala Lumpur High Court today ruled that an addendum from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, attached to the royal pardon that halved his 12-year imprisonment, was invalid.

The decision is likely to unravel lingering oppposition within Umno and among supporters of the former leader against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's coalition government.

High Court judge Alice Loke said any additional instruction from the Agong cannot be enforced as it should only be decided by the Pardons Board.

She said any action by the Agong must be within the Federal Constitution, including Article 42 on the power of pardons. 

"It significantly alters the nature of the imprisonment term and ought to be deliberated at the Pardons Board meeting," she added.

In early 2024, the Federal Territories Pardons Board, whose members included Anwar, reduced Najib's 12-year jail term to six years and lowered his RM240 million fine to RM50 million.

It was later revealed that, just before stepping down as the 16th Agong, Pahang's Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah had added notes to the pardons decision, calling for Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was among the first to raise the existence of the addendum in the Dewan Rakyat.

Since then, Anwar and other government leaders have repeatedly brushed aside claims about the existence of the addendum, and said the matter would only be decided by the court.

Among others, Anwar said the addendum was not addressed because Sultan Abdullah had been replaced.

"Any action we take must go back to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," he had told Dewan Rakyat.

The High Court had also dismissed the claim regarding the existence of the addendum, a decision which was later reversed early this year after the Court of Appeal allowed Najib's application for a judicial review.

Meanwhile, the Pahang state palace has confirmed that Sultan Abdullah had ordered Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Although Najib has largely stayed out of the limelight since going to prison and avoided issuing statements from behind bars.

However, comments uploaded on his official social media accounts and by his loyal supporters show the former leader has not endorsed Barisan Nasional's current cooperation with Anwar and Pakatan Harapan parties.

Najib's Facebook page has continued to post sarcastic remarks about PH leaders now in the Cabinet, while constantly reminding them of their previous opposition to his various initiatives and policies that the Anwar government has now adopted after renaming them.