Former prime minister Najib Razak, who is serving his sentence in jail, is now suing the government, the Minister of Home Affairs (MOHA), and the Prisons Department for denying him his right to attend the Dewan Rakyat.
According to The Star, Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said Najib filed an application at 1 pm on 5 October to initiate a judicial review of the Prisons Department’s decision to turn down his request to attend the ongoing Dewan Rakyat proceedings.
In the notice of application, Najib claimed that he has been “adversely affected” by the refusal to let him allowed access to the parliament, his political officers and aides, and his constituents in Pekan.
Najib is now seeking an order to quash the decision of the Commissioner General of Prisons to not allow him access to his officers/aides for the purposes of parliamentary, legislative, and constituent work.
He said that he has a constitutional obligation to discharge his duties effectively as a member of parliament for his constituents.
He also insists that it is his right to administer his constituency — where he has been the MP since 1976 — is a denial of the well-being of the constituency of Pekan itself.
The hearing is set on 12 October at Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Earlier, the prisons department rejected Najib Razak’s request to attend Dewan Rakyat proceedings on “security” grounds.
Meanwhile, Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun said that every MP has the right to attend the Parliament session and enter the lower house, but he has no power over the Prisons Department to request for his release.
Najib is still the MP for Pekan
Despite being convicted for his crimes, Najib remains as the MP because he filed a petition for a royal pardon.
Under Article 48 of the Federal Constitution, an individual can be disqualified as an MP if convicted of an offence, sentenced to more than a year in jail, and fined more than RM2,000.
However, the disqualification can take effect only upon the petition being disposed of, whenever that is.
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