AGC SEEKS GAG ORDER IN NAJIB'S JUDICIAL REVIEW

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has filed for a gag order forbidding any party from discussing the issue relating to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s judicial review concerning his claims of the existence of an additional document that purportedly allows him to carry out the remaining duration of his six-year prison term under house arrest.

AGC Civil Division deputy chief Shamsul Bolhassan said the motion was filed online at 7.45 pm when contacted by Bernama. He had previously said the motion was filed as the case touched on sensitive issues.

On Jan 6, in a majority 2-1 ruling, the Court of Appeal remitted the case to the High Court for a hearing on its merits after allowing Najib's appeal against the High Court's dismissal of his application for leave to initiate judicial review.

Najib, 71, is seeking a mandamus order to compel the respondents to provide a response and confirm the existence of the alleged additional document dated Jan 29, 2024. 

He has named the Minister of Home Affairs, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya; the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the Director General of the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister's Department, and the Government of Malaysia as respondents.

The former Pekan MP is also seeking an order that, if the additional document is found to exist, all or any of the respondents be compelled to act on it and promptly transfer him from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

-- BERNAMA