KUALA LUMPUR – Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was named as a critical witness in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s case, has supported the latter’s request of a supplementary royal order to serve his remaining jail sentence under house arrest.
In an affidavit filed at the high court on April 9, the Umno president claimed that during a meeting at his house in Country Heights, Kajang, International Trade and Investment Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had informed him of the existence of the addendum order dated January 29.
“Upon querying further, he subsequently showed me a copy of the said addendum order on his phone which he personally photographed/ scanned from an original copy as shown to the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“The contents of the order expressly stated that the applicant be allowed to serve the reduced sentence of his imprisonment under condition of ‘home arrest’ instead of the current prison confinement in Kajang.
“Thus, I hereby confirm the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29, 2024, issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“I verily believe that for the sufficient period of time I sighted and read the addendum order, and I clearly saw the entire contents and that it forms part of the pardon process of the applicant, which is supplementary to the main (royal) order both dated Jan 29, 2024,” Zahid said in the affidavit.
A copy of the affidavit has been circulated among the media, with several media outlets already reporting on it.
Previously, Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said a “critical” witness was set to file their testimony in support of Najib’s ongoing bid.
Zahid also confirmed that the addendum order was genuine because it bore the royal seal and the signature of the former king.
He also said that Tengku Zafrul and other members of the government had seen the addendum order before naming Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail as one of them.
Zahid said he does not have a copy of the addendum order due to confidentiality, especially in light of the fact that it has yet to be executed and enforced.
He confirmed, however, that a copy is in the collective possession of the respondents, and the Attorney-General has an original copy.
Earlier, today’s open-court proceedings in the former prime minister’s case was held in the chambers due to the sensitive nature of the affidavit submitted by a critical witness for the application.
Shafee made the request before judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh before the legal challenge began at the high court today.
Amarjeet allowed the application to bar the media from covering his judicial review application seeking house arrest for the remainder of his six-year jail sentence.
Shafee said the details disclosed in the latest affidavit appear to be sensitive.
He also explained that today’s proceedings had to be conducted in chambers due to how the issue revolves around an order issued by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which the affidavit produced today supposedly upholds.
Later, when approached by the media, Shafee insisted that the affidavit was not publicly accessible and cautioned against reporting on its alleged content.
“The court has given an order (for the affidavit) to be sealed. If you (media) got the document through a leak, then you take the risk. (If) you want to get in trouble, you go,” he said when pressed about the availability of the document online.
“The papers have been sealed. Whether or not it has been leaked before is another story, but now that the (court) order has been made, don’t take the risk. What for? That’s my advice.” – April 17, 2024