- Najib, 70, served less than two years of his sentence, which was supposed to end on Aug. 23, 2028.
- He accused seven entities of concealing the sultan’s order “in bad faith.”
- The scandal led to the 2018 election defeat of the party that had governed Malaysia since independence.
Two months after authorities halved his sentence in a corruption case, imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia is seeking to serve the remainder of his prison term under house arrest.
In a surprise application filed Wednesday, he stated that he possessed “clear information” indicating that then-king Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah issued an order during the Jan. 29 pardon’s board meeting. This order cut his 12-year jail sentence by half and sharply reduced a fine, allowing him to finish his sentence under house arrest.
Najib requested the court to have the government verify and execute the order. The scheduled application for Thursday to consider his request was postponed to April 17.
Sultan Abdullah, who hails from Najib’s hometown of Pahang, concluded his five-year reign on Jan. 30 under Malaysia’s unique rotating monarchy system. A new king assumed office on Jan. 31.
Najib, aged 70, has served less than two years of his sentence, which was supposed to end on Aug. 23, 2028, after his sentence was commuted. Authorities charged and found him guilty in a corruption case linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of state fund 1MDB.
In his application, he accused seven entities, including the pardons board, the home minister, and the attorney-general, of concealing the sultan’s order “in bad faith.”
Later on Thursday, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail informed reporters that he had “no knowledge” of such an order, clarifying that he wasn’t a member of the pardons board. The others named in the application were not immediately reachable for comment.
Shortly after taking office in 2009, Najib set up the 1MDB development fund. Investigators allege that Najib’s associates stole at least $4.5 billion from the fund and laundered it through layers of bank accounts in the US and other countries. The laundered money financed Hollywood films and extravagant purchases, including hotels, a luxury yacht, art, and jewelry. More than $700 million landed in Najib’s bank accounts.
The national outrage over the scandal resulted in the shocking 2018 election defeat of the party that had governed Malaysia since independence. In 2020, authorities sentenced Najib, and two years later, he lost his final appeal in court, becoming the country’s first former premier to be imprisoned. Despite his conviction, Najib still holds clout in his party, the United Malays National Organization, which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government that took power after the 2022 elections.
Najib has maintained his innocence, alleging that Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho duped him. Low, thought to be the mastermind of the scandal, remains at large. The former premier’s separate graft trial over the 1MDB scandal is ongoing.
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