A letter carrying the seal of the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong shed light on a possible impasse between the then-king and the Pardons Board regarding Najib Abdul Razak’s jail sentence.

The letter, read out by Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah today, revealed that the Pardons Board did not advise the Agong to reduce the former prime minister’s prison term.

“The announcement (in the letter) is made by...