There shouldn't be a gag order on royal addendum, says Azalina

Summary

• Minister Azalina Othman Said opposes a gag order on Najib Abdul Razak’s royal pardon review, citing its public nature and upcoming parliamentary discussions.

• She acknowledges the AGC might have legal grounds for the request and stressed respecting the court's decision.

• Azalina is unsure of the gag order's specifics and refrained from commenting on Takiyuddin Hassan’s criticism due to ongoing court proceedings.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said believed there shouldn’t be a gag order on Najib Abdul Razak’s royal pardon judicial review.

She said this in response to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) move to seek a gag order over the matter yesterday.

“In my personal opinion, there shouldn’t be a gag order,” she told reporters.

“Number one, the matter is already in the public domain.

“Number two, Parliament is going to sit next month. So all this will be raised again.”

Yesterday, it was reported that the AGC had sought to impose a gag order surrounding Najib’s royal pardon judicial review.

While opposing the gag order, the Pengerang MP acknowledged that the AGC might have its legal reasons.

“And they will submit to the court, let the court make the decision, and we have to respect the court,” she said briefly.

‘Not involved’

When asked who the gag order would apply to, Azalina said she was unsure and couldn’t explain the rationale behind the application.

“When the AGC submits for application, they will ask the court.

“To what extent, I wouldn’t know because I am not in charge of AGC, so I wouldn’t know how the application is going to look,” she explained.

Regarding former law minister Takiyuddin Hassan’s claim that the attorney-generals’s handling of an addendum from the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong to the current monarch was improper, Azalina declined to comment.

“I can’t comment because the matter is in court.

“Who is wrong or right depends on the judge. Maybe Takiyuddin can submit his affidavit or something; I don’t know, I’m not involved,” she remarked.

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