A former prime minister who once steered Malaysia's affairs now sits behind bars, and this week he quietly closed a door he had spent months trying to open. Najib Razak has withdrawn his appeal seeking to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, a route he had built on a royal addendum he says the authorities ignored. The retreat, recorded in court papers in April, means the claim will not be tested further, and it lands amid a long reckoning over the 1MDB scandal, in which billions drawn from a state fund are still being traced through the accounts of those who once held power.
Jailed ex-PM Najib Razak Withdraws Appeal Against Denial of House Arrest Bid
Former prime minister Najib Razak remains imprisoned, serving a six-year sentence since August 2022 and seeking to serve the remainder at home.
The appeal was withdrawn without liberty to file a fresh one.
Mark
So what actually happened here? He just dropped the appeal?
Mimi
Yes. According to The Edge, his lawyers wrote to the Court of Appeal on April 3, and the court acknowledged the withdrawal in a letter dated April 6. It was withdrawn without liberty to file again.
Mark
Why does that last phrase matter?
Mimi
It means he can't bring the same appeal back later. That door is closed.
Luke
Worth saying clearly: we don't know why he withdrew. His lawyers and the Attorney General's Chambers hadn't responded to Reuters. The report rests on court documents as described by The Edge.
Mark
What was he arguing in the first place?
Mimi
That the king, who chaired the 2024 pardons board that halved his sentence, also issued an addendum order letting him serve the rest at home, and that authorities ignored it.
Luke
And that's Najib's account. The source says he insists on it and alleges it was ignored. The High Court denied the bid on December 22, so it didn't accept that argument as grounds for house arrest.
Mark
How does this sit alongside his other cases?
Mimi
Badly for him. In December he got a further 15 years and a $2.8 billion fine for abuse of power and money laundering.
Luke
Also keep the allegations straight. The $4.5 billion stolen and more than $1 billion reaching accounts linked to him are what Malaysian and U.S. investigators say. He denies wrongdoing, while apologising for mishandling the scandal.
Mark
So what do we watch?
Mimi
Any further appeals out of the 1MDB cases, especially the December verdict.
Il Polso
- Najib Razak's bid for house arrest has collapsed after he withdrew his appeal without any right to refile it.
- His core claim, that a royal addendum let him finish his sentence at home, was never tested, and he says it was ignored.
- The withdrawal follows a December verdict that added 15 years and a $2.8 billion fine to his punishment.
- With this door shut, he remains in prison, and attention shifts to the remaining 1MDB cases still moving through the courts.
A former prime minister who once steered Malaysia's affairs now sits behind bars, and this week he quietly closed a door he had spent months trying to open. Najib Razak has withdrawn his appeal seeking to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, a route he had built on a royal addendum he says the authorities ignored. The retreat, recorded in court papers in April, means the claim will not be tested further, and it lands amid a long reckoning over the 1MDB scandal, in which billions drawn from a state fund are still being traced through the accounts of those who once held power.
Court documents seen by The Edge show that Najib Razak, Malaysia's jailed former prime minister, has abandoned his appeal against a ruling that refused to let him serve the rest of his sentence at home. The paper trail is precise: a letter from his lawyers dated April 3, and a Court of Appeal reply on April 6 acknowledging the withdrawal. Because he withdrew without liberty to refile, this route to house arrest is closed for good.
The fight began when the Kuala Lumpur High Court refused his home detention request on December 22. The request rested on a 2024 pardons board decision, chaired by the former king, which halved his sentence, and on an addendum order he says accompanied it, permitting him to serve the balance at home. He insists the authorities disregarded that order. Najib has been serving a six-year term since August 2022 for graft and money laundering, one of several cases tied to 1MDB.
The setback comes on top of a heavier blow. In December he was sentenced to a further 15 years and fined $2.8 billion in the largest 1MDB trial yet. For now he remains in prison, and the home detention challenge has ended.
Court documents seen by the Malaysian outlet The Edge show that Najib Razak, the jailed former prime minister of Malaysia, has given up his appeal against a ruling that refused to let him serve the rest of his sentence at home. The Edge reported the news on Monday, April 27. Reuters, relaying the report, said Najib's lawyers and the Attorney General's Chambers had not immediately responded to requests for comment.
The paper trail is specific. The Edge cited a letter from Najib's lawyers dated April 3 and a reply from the Court of Appeal dated April 6, in which the court acknowledged the withdrawal. The appeal was withdrawn without liberty to file a fresh one, which means this route to house arrest is now closed.
The appeal grew out of a decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, which on December 22 denied Najib's bid for home detention. He had appealed that decision. The bid itself stemmed from a pardons board ruling in 2024, chaired by Malaysia's former king, which halved his sentence. Najib has been serving a six-year term since August 2022, after a conviction for graft and money laundering in one of several cases tied to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state fund he helped establish in 2009 while he was premier.
His argument rested on an addendum order, which he says the king issued alongside the pardons board's decision. In his account, that order permitted him to serve the remainder of his jail term at home, and the authorities ignored it. The High Court rejected his request, and the withdrawal of the appeal means that the claim will not be tested further in the Court of Appeal.
The development adds to a run of legal setbacks. In December, Najib was sentenced to a further 15 years in prison and fined $2.8 billion for abuse of power and money laundering, following the biggest trial yet to come out of the 1MDB affair. Reuters described the withdrawal as yet another setback for him.
The scale of the underlying scandal is the backdrop to all of it. Malaysian and U.S. investigators say at least $4.5 billion was stolen from the 1MDB fund, with more than $1 billion allegedly flowing into accounts linked to Najib. He has consistently denied wrongdoing, though he has apologised for mishandling the scandal.
For now, Najib remains in prison. The withdrawal ends the home detention challenge, and attention turns to whatever further appeals arise from the 1MDB cases, including the December verdict and its 15-year sentence.
Citazioni salienti
Najib insists a king's addendum order allowed him to serve the rest of his sentence at home, and that authorities ignored it.— Najib Razak, as described by Reuters
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Crime & Justice