KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 27): Jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has failed in his bid to attend parliamentary sessions via a judicial review.
In dismissing the leave application (permission), High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid said that the reliefs sought by Najib are now academic, and have been superseded by events that have transpired, mainly the dissolution of Parliament.
"With the dissolution of Parliament, it would mean that the current Parliament has ended. That would mean that the Members of Parliament cease to be MPs. It is clear that with the dissolution of Parliament, the Parliament term has ended, and the applicant is no longer the MP for Pekan.
"Therefore, it is my view that the declaratory relief sought is no longer a live issue. The declaratory issues sought have become impossible with the dissolution of Parliament, since there is no longer a Parliament for him to attend," the judge said.
Furthermore, Ahmad Kamal said he is of the view that there is no "immense future consequence" that may arise for Najib when the court does not grant the reliefs sought.
"This is due to the fact that upon the dissolution of Parliament, Najib has ceased to be an MP.
"Unless and until a pardon is given or the conviction is quashed upon review, there is no possibility that [Najib] will again be an MP while simultaneously being a prisoner, as the law prohibits any convicted person to contest in an election," the judge said.
No order was made as to cost.
In judicial review cases, leave has to be granted to ensure that the application is not vexatious or an abuse of the court process.
Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10, paving the way for the 15th general election. The Election Commission has announced Nov 19, a Saturday, as the polling day, while nomination is set for Nov 5.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing Najib, said that he will be appealing against the decision.
The former premier, who had been the Pekan MP since 1976, filed for the judicial review on Oct 5 over the Prisons Department’s decision to not grant him permission to attend parliamentary sessions.
He named the Government, the home affairs minister, and the commissioner general of prisons as the respondents.
In late September, the Prisons Department denied his request to attend Parliament, and for access to his political aides at least three times a week.
His request was denied on the grounds of safety and security.
During submissions last week, senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan argued that since Parliament was dissolved on Oct 10, Najib's application did not have any live issues to be considered, and asked for the application to be dismissed.
Shamsul also argued that with the dissolution of Parliament, Najib is no longer the MP for the constituency.
Shafee, however, countered that when the application was filed, Najib was still the Pekan MP and needed access to his aides in order to deal with the constituents there.
The senior lawyer said that although Najib is now serving a 12-year prison sentence for the RM42 million case of SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the former PM had filed for both a review of the Federal Court’s decision and a royal pardon. As such, he said that Najib was still the Pekan MP — at the time of filling — until the full disposal of the review and the pardon.
Furthermore, Shafee said that the Prisons Department merely dismissed Najib’s application on the grounds of security, without giving adequate elaboration. The lawyer argued that the department ought to have provided reasons for the decision.
In the application, Najib was seeking to quash the Prisons Department’s decision, and a declaration that he was entitled to attend Parliament on the scheduled dates from Oct 3 to Nov 29.
Besides this, Najib was also seeking to set aside the decision by the Prisons Department to not allow him access to his aides for parliamentary, legislative and constituent work.
He was also seeking a declaration that he was entitled to have “reasonable access” to his parliamentary officers, in order for him to do his work as an MP.
In the affidavit of support, Najib said he was adversely affected by the decisions of the Government’s and the Prisons Department. He added that per Article 59 of the Federal Constitution, he had a constitutional obligation to discharge his duties as an MP effectively.