Malaysia’s king insists Najib house arrest order be honoured

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has paid the 50 million ringgit (about US$12.3 million) fine required under the terms of his conditional royal pardon, clearing the way for him to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence under house arrest. The transfer from prison was under way on Friday, the Associated Press reported, citing local media; Najib’s lawyer said a further process still had to be completed.

Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, said the Kuala Lumpur High Court had issued an order for house arrest after the payment. He said his team would deliver it to Kajang Prison and expected the process to be completed that day if all went as planned. The Associated Press reported that the timing of Najib’s move from prison was not immediately clear.

Najib, 73, was jailed in 2022 after Malaysia’s Federal Court upheld his conviction over 42 million ringgit from SRC International, a former unit of the state investment fund 1MDB. His original 12-year sentence and 210 million ringgit fine were halved in 2024 by the Pardons Board. The current house-arrest arrangement is due to run until 23 August 2028.

It applies only to the SRC International sentence. Najib is also appealing a separate 15-year sentence imposed in December 2025 in a second 1MDB-related corruption and money-laundering case. If that appeal fails, he could face further imprisonment after his current sentence ends.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he disagreed with the United Malays National Organisation’s decision to pay Najib’s fine, warning that it could give the public the impression that large-scale corruption could be overlooked. He acknowledged that the party had the right to make the payment.

Update

Sultan Ibrahim said the conditions of his September pardon had been met and that arguments disputing the order would amount to defying his decree. The palace statement, reported by Malaysian news agency Bernama on 7 November, said the order was clear and unrelated to Najib’s other cases.

Najib’s transfer to house arrest was put on hold on 6 November, after a 50 million ringgit fine was paid. Payment was a condition of the pardon, which allows him to serve the remainder of his sentence in the SRC International case at home until 23 August 2028.

The attorney-general’s office said it was not disputing the king’s authority or the validity of the pardon. It wants a court to determine the effect of a discharge order issued after the fine was paid.

The office said the question was whether Najib’s SRC sentence would continue under house arrest or had legally been completed. That matters, it said, because a separate 15-year sentence in the 1MDB case is due to begin after the SRC sentence ends. Najib is appealing against that conviction and sentence.