Shafee laments delay in formal Najib pardon order, will 'wait and see' on further action

Eight days after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar granted former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak a conditional pardon, Najib has yet to receive the formal order, his lawyer Shafee Abdullah said.

Shafee (above) said that he had formally inquired with the Prime Minister’s Department Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU), which serves as the Pardons Board’s secretariat, about the delay but has yet to receive a response.

“Once the king made the decision via royal prerogative, the most crucial person involved is Najib, as he is the one subjected to house arrest.

“Yet, to this day, he has not received that letter. We simply do not know why the order is delayed. Even the prison authorities have not received it yet.

“As long as we do not have it, it hinders the steps we need to take, because we are unaware of any conditions that may or may not have been stipulated,” he told reporters at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

Shafee was present at the courthouse earlier for Najib’s (above) 1MDB criminal case management, after the former Pekan MP applied for a stay on the execution of his jail term and fine payment.

His application will be heard before judge Noor Ruwena Nurdin on Oct 14.

Clerical staff responsible for 'odd' delay

Shafee also lamented that when the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal addendum order was made on Jan 29, 2024, his team received it just four days later on Feb 2, unlike the present situation.

“But you cannot blame the (current) Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as he had made his decision and those who are supposed to do the clerical work are the ones who delay it,” he said, labelling such a delay as odd.

Shafee added that his team of lawyers would continue to monitor the issuance of the official house arrest documents and would give the secretariat until Oct 14 - when Najib’s stay application is due to be heard - before considering any further action.

“It depends on how long they are going to delay. So far, I think it may not be necessary (to take any action), but let’s wait and see.

“(But) maybe (I’ll give them) until Oct 14? If we can get the stay and Najib still cannot come out because the order is not there, it becomes ridiculous," he added.

Najib, who is also ex-finance minister, is serving his jail sentence over seven counts of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving over RM42 million belonging to SRC International.

He was previously sentenced to 12 years’ jail time and a RM210 million fine. The Pardons Board halved his jail sentence to six years and reduced the fine to RM50 million in 2024.

Separately, he was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and a RM11.38 billion fine for four power abuse and 21 money laundering charges linked to billions of 1MDB funds.

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