FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid to commence a legal challenge against the Prisons Department’s refusal for him to attend the now-dissolved Parliament has been denied by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
“There is no more Parliament for him [Najib] to attend,” Justice Datuk Ahmad Kamal Shahid said this morning (Oct 27).
“It is clear that with the dissolution of Parliament, its term has ended. The applicant (Najib) is no longer the (Pekan) MP.”
Najib, who is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence over a corruption case involving RM42 mil of funds from government-owned SRC International, filed the judicial review leave application on Oct 5.
“With the dissolution of Parliament, it would mean the current Parliament has ended, meaning that the members of the Dewan Rakyat have ceased to be members of Parliament,” Kamal said in the reading of his judgment.
Therefore, Kamal opined that the declaratory reliefs sought by Najib – namely to have access to his officers for the purpose of parliamentary, legislative and constituent work and access attendance to attend Parliament session on the scheduled dates – is no longer a live issue.
“The declaratory relief sought has become impossible with the dissolution of Parliament as there is no longer a Parliament to attend.
“The Election Commission has announced that the polling date for the general election is on Nov 19, 2022, that would mean there would be another cabinet formed from newly elected members of Parliament,” Kamal said, adding that there would be no order as to costs.
At this juncture, Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed the court that they would be appealing to the Court of Appeal. – Oct 27, 2022
Main photo credit: EPA
