KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence team is unaware of any meeting by the Pardons Board that is reportedly scheduled to be held today.
His lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the New Straits Times that no one was kept in the loop of the meeting.
"No! Nobody knows!" he said briefly when asked whether he knew of the meeting.
Earlier today, a local newspaper had reported that the Pardons Board was scheduled to meet today, chaired by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, with one of the items on the agenda for the meeting being the jail term faced by Najib.
It said the meeting will be the last official meeting for the Agong before his reign ends on Tuesday, after which he returns as the sultan of Pahang.
"As of today (Sunday), I was informed that the meeting will take place (on Monday) but I am not sure if it has been postponed again, considering it has been several times where the meeting was postponed.
"What I can confirm is that the Pardons Board meeting will be chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong," Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa was quoted as saying.
Talk of Najib's pardon has been raised several times in recent weeks.
On Jan 10, Shafee refuted claims by a news portal that the Pardons Board would decide on his application for a royal pardon at the end of the month.
He said they had not received any update on their application as of December last year.
On Jan 24, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said there was no discussion on matters related to the Pardons Board in last week's cabinet meeting.