KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lawyer said he was unaware of the former prime minister’s reported request to use a second residence while serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee said he first learnt of the request through news reports.
“I really do not know about this. I also read about it for the first time in the news earlier,” he told the New Straits Times.
He was responding to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s remarks in the Dewan Rakyat that Najib had submitted a written request for permission to use another house.
Saifuddin said the request could not yet be accommodated because the Pardons Board’s decision expressly designated only one residence, at No. 11, Jalan Langgak Duta.
In response to a supplementary question from Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai), Saifuddin said the conditions governing Najib’s house arrest comprised three sets of requirements.
The first comprised conditions set by the Pardons Board when granting Najib a conditional pardon in the form of house arrest.
The second involved additional conditions drawn up by the Prisons Department for supervision and monitoring under its powers in the Prisons Act.
The third related to requests made by Najib himself, including his written application to use a second residence.
Saifuddin said Najib was also required to undergo rehabilitation programmes.
He said the conditions would provide a framework for handling similar cases in the future, with requirements set by the Pardons Board and Prisons Department intended to ensure proper supervision and compliance.
Najib began serving the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest on Nov 10.