KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak failed in his court bid for house arrest today, which means he has to continue serving the rest of his six-year jail term at Kajang Prison.
High Court judge Alice Loke Yee Ching decided that the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s add-on order for Najib’s house arrest is invalid and cannot be carried out.
This is because the Yang di-Pertuan Agong did not follow the requirements under the Federal Constitution's Article 42 when he made the add-on or addendum order for Najib to be placed under house arrest.
“The addendum order was not deliberated nor decided in the 61st Pardons Board meeting. There was no compliance with Article 42, consequently it is not a valid order,” the judge said.
She said this means the Malaysian government has no duty to enforce the house arrest order.
Immediately after the decision, Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the High Court that his client would be appealing against today’s decision.
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