Malaysia's national palace asserted on Saturday that the royal decision permitting imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest is unambiguous and must be honored. The palace issued a stern warning, stating that any attempts to challenge this order would be considered an act of defiance against the king.
This declaration followed an intervention by the attorney general on Friday, who temporarily halted Najib's transfer from prison to house arrest, citing a need for further legal clarification. Najib had departed prison after his political party paid a 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million) fine, a condition of a royal pardon that would enable him to complete his sentence at home. However, he was returned to prison hours later due to the attorney general's intervention.
Najib has been incarcerated since August 2022, following the Malaysian Supreme Court's affirmation of his conviction in his initial corruption trial related to the multibillion-dollar looting of the state investment fund, 1MDB. In September, Malaysia's king granted Najib clemency, allowing him to serve the remaining portion of his graft sentence under house arrest upon payment of a court-imposed fine.
The palace statement emphasized that all conditions attached to Najib's conditional pardon had been met and that the royal prerogative of pardon must be respected. It further stated that there should be no confusion or prolonged uncertainty regarding the pardon's interpretation and implementation.
"The conditional pardon order is clear, explicit and without any ambiguity, and is unrelated to any other cases against him," the statement read. "Given that all the conditions in the conditional pardon order have been fulfilled, any arguments challenging the order would amount to disobeying the command" of the king.
The attorney general's office had cited legal ambiguities in the house arrest order and expressed concerns about its potential impact on Najib's separate 15-year prison sentence for corruption and money laundering, for which he is currently appealing. The office had stated that the delay was intended to ensure accurate implementation in accordance with the law, rather than to contest the royal pardon.
Najib, who established the 1MDB fund shortly after taking office in 2009, faces allegations that at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and laundered by his associates. He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 210 million ringgit ($51.5 million) in 2020 for multiple charges linked to the embezzlement of 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.
In January 2024, his sentence was halved to six years, and his fine reduced to 50 million ringgit by the Pardons Board. The conditional pardon allows for house arrest until August 23, 2028, contingent on the fine's payment. If Najib's appeal in the second case is unsuccessful, he could face an additional 15 years in prison after completing his current sentence.
The 1MDB scandal contributed to a significant political shift in Malaysia, leading to the historic defeat of the ruling coalition in the 2018 election. Despite his conviction, Najib continues to hold influence within his party, UMNO, which is now part of the government that assumed power in 2022.