KUALA LUMPUR (July 2): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been allowed by the High Court on Tuesday to intervene in the Malaysian Bar’s challenge against the Federal Territories Pardons Board's decision to reduce his jail sentence and fine.

Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid allowed Najib’s counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s application. Shafee came at the 11th hour to the hearing of the Malaysian Bar’s leave application.

Shafee told the court that he was appearing for the former PM, and that the court should allow him to submit or allow them to hold a watching brief on the matter, as any demand by the Bar would affect his client.

“Since Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been allowed by the court to appear in the Bar challenge [against] the Attorney General’s discretion to withdraw the charges, Datuk Seri Najib should be allowed the same,” the counsel said.

Shafee added that he only heard about the hearing on this matter on Tuesday, and they were not served with documents on the case.

The Malaysian Bar, represented by senior counsels Zainur Zakaria and Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, had objected to the presence of Najib’s representative as this is an ex-parte (single party) matter.

Shafee replied that as his client is the putative second respondent, he should be allowed to appear.

Following this, Ahmad Kamal said he is using his discretion to allow Najib’s representative, Shafee, to be present in this proceeding, as the former PM is a putative respondent.

The judge then adjourned Tuesday’s proceedings after hearing submissions from the Malaysian Bar, and directed the Bar and the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) to give the related documents to Shafee within two weeks from Tuesday.

The AGC was represented by senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi, who objected to the leave application.

Ahmad Kamal then asked Shafee to file written submissions by Aug 8, and the Malaysian Bar and the AGC to reply by Sept 9.

He fixed Sept 18 and 23 to hear the continuation of the leave application.

On Jan 29, the Pardons Board halved Najib's jail sentence to six years, and reduced his RM210 million fine to only RM50 million. The decision was announced publicly on Feb 2.

The Bar filed the challenge or leave application at the High Court on April 26, through Messrs Amir and Rajpal Ghai, where it named the board and Najib as respondents.

It is also seeking an injunction to restrain Najib from submitting any effort to obtain a pardon until the conclusion of all cases against him and until the former PM publicly accepts responsibility for his actions and conviction, and expresses repentance and remorse for his actions.

The Bar’s secretary Murshidah Mustafa, in objecting to the pardon, noted that Najib still has three ongoing cases besides the concluded SRC International Sdn Bhd case, namely 25 charges in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial, six counts of criminal breach of trust in the International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) trial, and a second SRC money laundering trial involving RM27 million.

She argued that the decision by the Pardons Board is irrational and mocks both the concluded and ongoing prosecutions of Najib, and Malaysians’ legitimate expectations of transparency, accountability, and justice.

“The board’s decision not only brings to nought foreign and local efforts to prosecute and imprison those responsible in the largest kleptocracy in history, makes a mockery of them and a case which the Court of Appeal had described as a ‘national embarrassment'. The same can be said of the board’s decision,” she said, adding that Najib had shown no remorse to warrant the reduction in his jail sentence and fine.