KUALA LUMPUR: The legal affairs division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister's Department has made clear that there was no record of any addendum order concerning former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's house arrest.
In a statement, it also confirmed that the division was never informed or received any official instructions from the palace over the matter.
BHEUU said all matters related to the Pardons Board had been fulfilled in accordance to the law and established procedures.
"Concerning this matter, the division as the secretariat for the Pardons Board of the Federal Territories, confirms that there is no additional document or addendum to be found in any file or official record in BHEUU.
"The division has also never received any notification or official directive from Istana Negara concerning this matter.
"BHEUU would like to stress that any statement which can lead to public confusion on the role of the Pardons Board is unacceptable and could potentially lead to appropriate action," the statement read.
The division added that it would not hesitate to take the appropriate action to ensure that the integrity, transparency and professionalism of the Pardons Board is preserved and the correct information is disseminated to the public.
The BHEUU in its statement also made clear that it had no dealings with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
It said this was as Azalina was not part of the Pardons Board and is not involved in any administrative matters involving any inmate.
The division also said proceedings and information related to the Pardons Board were fully subject to the Official Secrets Act, and as such, all the related documents are only accessible to board members and individuals directly authorised by the board.
"No other party, regardless of position or rank, has access to these documents, in line with the principles of confidentiality and integrity," it said.
The issue concerning the purported Royal Addendum first surfaced early last year after Najib's defence team contended that the Pardons Board had failed to fully carry out the former King's decree.
The issue, in recent months, took on a new twist with the government being accused of "hiding" the purported addendum order despite repeated clarifications by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin, in his response to the issue earlier this week, had said he nor the Prisons Department had received any addendum or directive on the house arrest issue.
He had said the only documents from BHEUU as the secretariat of the Pardons Board were a summary of Najib's legal proceedings with the Agong's official decree.
On Jan 6, Najib was granted permission by the Court of Appeal to initiate a legal bid to review the existence of an addendum order issued by the former King, which he claimed would allow him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.
During proceedings at the court, his lead lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had revealed a letter from the Pahang Sultanate Council affirming the existence of a royal addendum order allowing Najib to serve his remaining jail term under house arrest.
The letter dated Jan 4 was addressed to Najib's eldest son Datuk Mohamad Nizar by the Comptroller of the Royal Household of the Sultan of Pahang Datuk Ahmad Khirrizal Ab Rahman.
Najib had been sentenced to 12 years in prison with a fine of RM210 million after he was convicted in the SRC International case.
However, his prison sentence was halved to six years and his fine was reduced to RM50 million following his petition for a royal pardon.