Did you lie about Najib’s ‘supplementary order’, Saifuddin asked

Following Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s revelations, Isham Jalil asks whether Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (left) lied about a purported order concerning Najib Razak’s house arrest.

PETALING JAYA: A former Umno leader has challenged home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail to address reports confirming the existence of a purported “supplementary order” allowing former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Earlier today, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported to have confirmed in an affidavit the existence of the purported order issued by then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah on Jan 29.

Reacting to the reports, former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil asked whether Saifuddin spoke the truth when he claimed to be unaware of the purported order.

“Who is lying to Najib? Is Zahid lying? Is Tengku Zafrul Aziz lying? Or is Saifuddin lying?

Isham Jalil.

“If what Zahid said is true, then it makes it look like Saifuddin and the government lied and hid the matter.

“Saifuddin, please comment if Zahid and Tengku Zafrul are lying, or if you are lying,” he said in a Facebook post.

According to the reports, Zahid claimed to have viewed a copy of the purported order on Tengku Zafrul’s mobile phone during a meeting at the deputy prime minister’s house.

Zahid alleged that the purported copy Tengku Zafrul showed him had been taken from the original shown to Tengku Zafrul by Al-Sultan Abdullah.

“I verily believe that for the sufficient period of time I sighted and read the addendum order, and I clearly saw the entire contents and that it forms part of the pardon process of the applicant which is supplementary to the main order both dated Jan 29.

“Thus, I hereby confirm the existence of the addendum order dated Jan 29, issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” he was quoted as saying.

Zahid’s affidavit was filed in support of an application by Najib to compel the government to produce the purported “supplementary order”.

Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said in a statement that he intends to apply to the court to file an affidavit in the proceedings to “correct certain factual errors” contained in Zahid’s affidavit.

“I take no position in so far as the merits of the ongoing dispute is concerned but I merely wish to ensure that the factual record is properly reflected and recorded,” he said.

Earlier today, unity government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the Cabinet did not discuss Najib’s application seeking that the court compel Putrajaya to produce the document.

Fahmi said the Cabinet also did not discuss Zahid’s reported affidavit in support of Najib’s application.

On Feb 2, the Federal Territories Pardons Board halved Najib’s prison sentence in his SRC International case from 12 years to six and reduced his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.

Najib, 70, is currently serving his sentence at Kajang Prison and is to be released on Aug 23, 2028.

On March 4, Saifuddin said Najib was not eligible for house arrest as it only applied to convicts serving at most four years in jail.