Malaysia’s attorney general halted former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s planned move to house arrest on Friday, November 6, leaving him in prison while officials seek clarity about his royal pardon and a related court order.
Earlier that day, a High Court order had made it possible for Najib to serve the rest of his reduced sentence at home after his party, UMNO, paid a fine of 50 million ringgit, about US$12.3 million. Najib briefly left prison, reportedly for a scheduled dental appointment. He returned to Kajang Prison later that evening.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said legal questions remained about whether paying the fine completed Najib’s sentence in the SRC International case or only met one condition for serving it at home. It also said the answer could affect how his separate 15-year sentence in the 1MDB case is carried out. A court rejected his request to suspend that sentence in October.
Najib’s lawyers challenged the government’s move, saying the pardon’s conditions had been met and the attorney general could not suspend it. The dispute leaves the timing and legal basis of any house arrest unresolved.