Kuala Lumpur: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been allowed to appear in the Federal Court on April 28 to hear the decision on the Attorney-General’s application for leave to appeal regarding the existence of additional documents in the case involving the former Prime Minister.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Chief Justice of Malaya Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, who was accompanied by Federal Court Judges Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, approved the request after Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, conveyed Najib’s wish to attend the proceedings. Senior Federal Counsel Safiyyah Omar did not oppose the request.

On January 6, the Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 majority decision, remitted the case to the High Court for a hearing on its merits. This decision came after Najib’s successful appeal against the High Court’s earlier dismissal of his application for leave to commence a judicial review.

Najib, 71, is pursuing a mandamus order to compel the respondents to disclose and confirm the existence of an additional document dated January 29 of the previous year. He has listed several respondents, including the Minister of Home Affairs, the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Attorney General, and the Federal Territories Pardons Board, among others.

Furthermore, Najib is seeking an order that would mandate the respondents to enforce the additional document, if it exists, and facilitate his transfer from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his sentence under home detention.

On July 3 of the previous year, High Court Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh dismissed Najib’s application for leave to commence a judicial review. The judge ruled that the four affidavits supporting Najib’s claim, which included statements from UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and vice president Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, were considered hearsay and inadmissible.

Najib has been incarcerated at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd. He filed a petition for a royal pardon on September 2, 2022. The High Court initially sentenced him to 12 years in prison and imposed a RM210 million fine. This decision was upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court during his appeals. However, the Pardons Board later reduced his prison term to six years and decreased the fine to RM50 million.