Mystery client, exit watch, political fog
"Ho, ho, ho" bag of gifts as we start the Christmas week.
A bag of newsy stuff to kickstart the week. Connecting some dots, filling in some gaps and updating wherever necessary.
Today’s newsletter:
Tracks Tabung Haji’s quiet rehabilitation and Urusharta’s looming exit
Lifts the lid on Sunway Construction’s mysterious data centre client
Flags VC/PE moves, including a Kuok-linked firm to watch
Deciphers Putrajaya’s political fog and what it means for private capital
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First up, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed former PM Najib Razak’s judicial review application to serve the remainder of his reduced six-year sentence under house arrest.
Judge Alice Lok Yee Ching ruled that the alleged royal addendum — purportedly issued by the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong alongside the 2024 partial pardon — was invalid.
The reason was that the addendum was neither deliberated nor decided during the Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting, therefore breaching Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.
Najib must continue serving his term in Kajang Prison, the judge said.
But the former PM’s lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, immediately announced plans to appeal the decision.
Shafee’s post-ruling strategy appears to lean into populist spin, describing the verdict as “shocking” and framing it as an encroachment on the monarchy’s prerogative of mercy, a highly emotive issue tied to Malay identity and royal sanctity in Malaysia.
By invoking the inviolability of the king’s powers under Article 42, this approach risks escalating the case into a politically charged debate over institutional boundaries and cultural sensitivities, potentially rallying Najib’s supporters while inflaming divisions in an already polarised political landscape.
The mettle of the Malaysian judiciary continues to be tested.
I don’t envy the judiciary. But I’m also thankful that leading up to Christmas, there’s some sort of good news (even though Najib is appealing the decision).
What can I say? We are a country of slim pickings and low-bar wins.
Here’s what piqued my interest though. Loke said the meeting minutes show the then agong initially proposed a full pardon, but the majority of the Pardons Board disagreed. The ruler then decided to only reduce Najib’s sentence.
The question is: who agreed?