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Najib Razak, former Malaysian prime minister, now a convicted and incarcerated felon, was denied permission to attend parliament that has been dissolved.
Permission denied
According to the New Straits Times, Najib had mounted a legal challenge against the Malaysian prisons department, seeking permission to attend parliament and have access to his parliamentary staff.
Najib claimed that this was in order to serve the constituents of his seat in Pekan, in the state of Pahang.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for seven charges relating to misappropriation in the SRC international case. He was also fined RM 210 million (S$62.7 million).
On July 28, he exhausted his appeals and was remanded to Kajang prison to serve out his term.
The prisons department have rejected accusations that Najib is being given special treatment.
They have on different occasions denied that he has been given special accommodations, or that he will be allowed to campaign in the upcoming general election.
Najib had applied to attend parliament sittings between Oct. 3 to Nov. 29.
However, Malaysia's Prime Minster and fellow Umno party member Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved parliament on Oct. 10, paving the way for a general election.
An academic issue
MalaysiaKini reported that during a previous hearing, the Malaysian Attorney-General's Chambers had said that the application was "academic" as parliament had been dissolved.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the former prime minister’s leave application to commence the judicial review.
Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid of the KL High Court said that as parliament was now dissolved, Najib was no longer Member of Parliament for Pekan.
In his view, the reliefs sought by Najib were "no longer a live issue" and "the declaratory relief sought has become impossible with the dissolution of Parliament as there is no longer a Parliament to attend."
Najib, who was in attendance and accompanied by prison officers, had previously said that he had been "adversely affected" because he was not allowed to access his aides for parliamentary, legislative, and constituent work.
His wife Rosmah Mansor, who was also recently convicted, was in court to attend the hearing. Rosmah is appealing her conviction and sentence.
Najib's lawyers have said that they intend to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
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Top image via Getty