Najib's house-arrest transfer put on hold pending legal review
Malaysia's attorney general's office has temporarily halted the move of former prime minister Najib Razak from prison to house arrest, saying legal questions about his royal pardon need clarifying. Najib, 73, has been jailed since August 2022 over the 1MDB corruption case. The king granted him a second royal pardon in September, conditional on a 50 million ringgit fine, which his party UMNO has paid. Najib left prison on Friday but was returned hours later after the intervention, and police had been stationed outside his Kuala Lumpur residence. The palace said the royal decision is clear and must be respected.
Key facts
- A court order had cleared Najib's transfer to his home, expected on Friday, before it was suspended.
- Najib was separately sentenced in December last year to 15 years in prison and a 2.8 billion dollar fine.
- A judge rejected a request last month to suspend that separate sentence pending appeal.
- UMNO secretary-general Asyraf Wajid Dusuki confirmed the 50 million ringgit payment was raised through a donation drive.
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Why it matters
The dispute tests how a royal pardon interacts with separate court sentences in a high-profile graft case.
What changed
First published from South China Morning Post, The Hindu, Bangkok Post, CNA and The Times of India