FORMER Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Najib Razak is citing his current predecessor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s speech in a PKR event as part of his legal challenge to serve his remaining sentence on house arrest.

In his affidavit to the Kuala Lumpur High Court on May 25, Najib said Anwar’s speech as PKR president at the party’s special convention on April 21 had confirmed the existence of the purported supplementary royal decree.

In the affidavit, Najib cited a transcript of Anwar’s speech, captured in a copy of a DVD of the event’s video. Anwar purportedly stated that the federal government would not question the authority of the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong to decide on the issue, affirming that the king holds the final say as the Pardons Board chairperson.

“The message in the video, assisted with the transcript and English translation, taken in a wholesome context, clearly indicates that the honourable PM’s speech addressed the subject matter of the addendum order,” said the affidavit.

The speech took place on April 21, nearly three months after the main (royal) order (which discounted Najib’s initial 12-year jail sentence to six years) was announced on Feb 2 by the secretariat of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya (under the supervision and control of the fourth, fifth and sixth respondents).

Earlier today, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed Najib’s bid to insert his affidavit and that of Pahang Mentri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, which the government’s representatives from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) objected to due to late filing.

The civil court has deferred its decision to July 3, originally scheduled for today, regarding whether to grant leave for Najib to proceed with his judicial review concerning the alleged royal addendum permitting him to serve the remainder of his six-year jail sentence under house arrest.

If the civil court grants leave on July 3, it will set a later date to hear the parties’ oral submissions on the merits of the legal action.

Najib’s legal action seeks the implementation of an alleged supplementary order by the previous 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, while serving jail time at the Kajang prison over the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case, Najib filed the judicial review leave application. — TMR