KUALA LUMPUR: The "closed-door" proceeding on Datuk Seri Najib Razak's court hearing to retrieve the addendum order by the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong allowing him house arrest, was made in accordance with law.

Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly said yesterday's proceedings were solely for Najib's defence team to request permission (leave) from the High Court to hear the matter.

"I think many misunderstood... Yesterday was only for the leave application.

"Under the law, leave should be heard in chambers. 

"So, what the court did yesterday (was) only declare open court as chambers," he said when contacted today. 

Hanir said this when asked to respond to questions regarding why the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) did not oppose Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah's application for the proceedings to be held in chambers.

Court chambers is a private room or office where a judge may conduct hearings, discussions, or meetings related to a case. 

When the proceeding is held "in chambers", it means that it is conducted privately, typically with only the judge, legal representatives, and parties involved in the case present. 

Shafee, at the onset of yesterday's proceeding, asked the court to exclude the public from hearing the case due to "several sensitive materials" in the case.

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.

The senior lawyer said Hanir and his colleague Shamsul Bolhassan did not object to his request for the matters to be heard in chambers. 

Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh allowed the proceedings to be held in chambers before fixing June 5 to make his verdict on leave application.

The former prime minister filed the application to compel the government to produce the impugned document, the contents of which Najib says have not been revealed by the government. 

He named the Home Minister, Prison Department commissioner general, Attorney-General (AG), Federal Territories Pardons Board, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Legal Affairs Division director-general, and the government as respondents. Najib in his Jan 29 affidavit, said former Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah ordered for his jail term to be reduced to six years and his fine for the SRC International case to be reduced to RM50 million (main order).

"The King also immediately or simultaneously issued an addendum order on the same day stipulating that Najib be allowed to serve the reduced sentence of his imprisonment under home arrest instead of confinement in Kajang Prison.

"The addendum order curiously was not announced by any of the respondents when the announcement of the main order was made.

"It must be impressed that the addendum order was already in existence since Jan 29, but this anomaly was never revealed nor explained by any of the respondents," claimed Najib.

Najib has claimed that his lawyers have requested an original copy or a copy of the order from the Kajang Prison but has not received a response.

He also claimed the subsequent inaction by the Home Minister and Prison Department commissioner general to execute the said order, is irrational, unreasonable, illegal, and arbitrary and offends the Federal Constitution and laws.

Najib is currently serving a 12-year jail term after he was found guilty of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million from SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

He was also fined RM210 million.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/04/1039520/courts-closed-door-session-najibs-case-follows-legal-procedure