THE Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) appears to have a change in stance related to the house arrest order for disgraced former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak that probably prompted them to change their decision.
Orders for criminal cases are prepared and issued by the courts not the defence lawyers, unlike civil cases, a member of Najib’s defence team Muhammad Farhan Shafee pointed out.
He argued that the Order of Discharge clearly stated that the RM50 mil fine had been paid and the rest of the prison sentence must be continued under house arrest according to the Conditional Pardon Order.
Stressing that nothing in the order needs an interpretation, the lawyer said that it was AG Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar who had a change in stance, leading to a confusion, Berita Harian reported.
There may be two different interpretations or the order itself is defective and both would be handled with different remedies. This was what Farhan meant by changing goalposts.
On Nov 6, UMNO paid the RM50 mil fine imposed on Najib that paved the way for Najib to undergo house arrest.
The house arrest however was postponed since AGC wanted the court to interpret the Conditional Pardon Order and Discharge Order.
The move angered the Yang di–Pertuan Agong, and Istana Negara released a statement saying there was nothing wrong with the order the King decreed: a house arrest after the fine is paid up.
Yesterday (Nov 9), Dusuki pointed out that the discharge order should have been scrutinised before it was executed.
A former deputy public prosecutor and a practising lawyer also highlighted the flaws in the discharge order.
The defects reportedly involve accuracy in the terminology and legal provisions used in the document.
Former deputy public prosecutor Liyana Marzuki in a Facebook post pointed out that the name of the court, Najib’s name and the relevant section numbers were all stated wrongly.
She deemed it as a fatal error that would enable others to cancel it altogether.
In addition to that, she blamed Najib’s legal defence team led by Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah since it was a norm for the defence team to prepare a draft order that the court would endorse.
Practising lawyer Asiah Abd Jalil pointed out a fatalistic error in the discharge order, specifically regarding the seven charges and sentences given to Najib, who was found guilty in the SRC International Bhd case. – Nov 10, 2026
Main image credit: Harian Metro
