THE media and public barred from hearing Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s (picture) judicial review application to serve his remaining jail sentence under house arrest.

This comes after the former prime minister’s defence team applied for the public to be excluded due to “several sensitive materials” in the case.

Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah made the application at the onset of the proceeding before High Court Judge Datuk Amerjeet Singh this morning.

The “sensitive materials” are related to Najib’s claim that the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah allowed him to serve his remaining jail sentence under house arrest via an addendum order.

Media representatives are waiting outside the High Court to seek a response from Shafee and a senior federal counsel from the Attorney-General’s Chambers over what transpired in the chamber proceedings.

On April 4, Shafee told the media that a “critical witness” was set to file an affidavit to support Najib’s judicial review seeking to serve house arrest for the remainder of his six-year jail sentence over the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.

However, Shafee did not reveal who the critical witness was.

Najib is seeking leave to commence the judicial review for the implementation of an alleged supplementary order by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, linked to the partial pardon that halved his jail sentence to six years and discounted his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.

On April 1, Najib filed the judicial review leave application while serving jail time at the Kajang Prison over the SRC International corruption case.

Shafee also previously said the original decision by the former Agong’s pardon board was to free his client. — TMR / pic credit: MEDIA MULIA