KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on Friday, Nov. 6 requested a temporary halt to former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s house arrest, pointing to “complex legal questions” surrounding the terms of his conditional royal pardon.
The United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which Najib once led, paid the 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million) penalty to the Kuala Lumpur High Court, fulfilling a key condition of his conditional royal pardon.
The payment cleared the way for the court to issue a house arrest order, allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his reduced prison sentence at home.
Najib, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018, has been imprisoned at Kajang Prison since August 2022 following his conviction in the SRC International corruption case, which involved the misuse of 42 million ringgit in public funds.
He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 210 million ringgit. In January 2024, Malaysia’s Pardons Board cut his prison term in half to six years and reduced the financial penalty to 50 million ringgit.
In September 2026, King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until August 2028, provided he paid the required fine and met other conditions.
UMNO raised the money through the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund, a fundraising campaign supported by party members and public contributors.
After reaching its target, the party confirmed that it had completed the payment process and would close the special fundraising account.
The development has reignited political debate over Malaysia’s handling of corruption cases involving powerful political figures.
Critics and anti-corruption advocates have questioned the house arrest arrangement, while concerns have also emerged over the legal process behind its implementation.
Najib continues to face separate legal proceedings connected to the wider 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, which involved billions of dollars in misappropriated state investment funds.
