Malaysia’s attorney general has suspended Najib Razak’s move from prison to house arrest while legal questions about his conditional royal pardon are clarified. His party paid a 50 million ringgit fine before the planned transfer. The former prime minister remains in prison, where he has been held since 2022 following corruption proceedings.
Malaysia’s attorney general temporarily suspended former prime minister Najib Razak’s transfer to house arrest on Friday. The attorney general’s chambers said his prison detention would continue while legal questions concerning the interpretation of a conditional royal pardon were clarified.[1], [2]
Earlier, lawyer Farhan Shafee said he had received the order and was taking it to Kajang prison in Malaysia. He said the transfer could begin on Friday if arrangements proceeded as planned. King Sultan Ibrahim had agreed in September to allow Najib to serve the rest of his sentence at home.[1]
His party, the United Malays National Organisation, paid his 50 million ringgit fine, approximately 12 million dollars. The party reportedly raised the money through crowdfunding because Najib’s bank accounts were frozen.[1]
Najib has been imprisoned since 2022 following corruption proceedings linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state investment fund he cofounded while governing from 2009 to 2018. He denies wrongdoing and says he was made the sole scapegoat for a complex international fraud. In a separate case he received 15 years in prison and a 2.5 billion dollar fine for money laundering and abuse of power. He appealed and sought to halt that sentence and fine on health and financial grounds; a judge rejected the request.[1]
