In a country where a former prime minister's fall once seemed to settle a question about accountability, the matter has reopened in a quieter form. Agriculture minister Mat Sabu, while stressing he bears Najib Razak no personal grudge, has argued that equality before the law cannot bend to rank, political reach or family connection. Following a High Court order that lets Najib finish his SRC International sentence at home until August 2028, he has called for legislation that would extend house arrest to every convicted person, and he has pledged his ministerial salary to back the campaign. The
Mat Sabu Pushes for Universal House Arrest Law, Offers Salary to Fund Campaign
Former prime minister Najib Razak, jailed in 2022 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, will now serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
Malaysia cannot practise a two-tiered justice system.
Mark
Why does a minister offering his salary matter more than just issuing a statement?
Mimi
It signals he means to push this, not just comment on it. He has committed his full ministerial pay for the rest of the parliamentary term to NGOs campaigning for the law.
Mark
He says this isn't personal against Najib. Does that hold up?
Luke
That's his own account of his motive. The reporting carries what he said, not what he feels, so we can note the claim without confirming it.
Mark
What is the actual argument?
Mimi
Equality before the law, regardless of position, political influence or family ties. He says Malaysia cannot have a two-tiered system.
Mark
Is he challenging the pardons?
Mimi
Not as reported. The pardons came from two Agongs, in January 2024 and September this year. His focus is making house arrest available to all convicts.
Luke
Worth saying too that we don't know what the law would look like. No eligibility criteria, no timeline, no bill is described.
Mark
And the NGOs?
Luke
Unnamed. The statement offers the money but the reporting doesn't say who would get it.
Mimi
What's firm is the court order: house arrest for Najib until Aug 23, 2028, with the RM50 million fine and other conditions attached.
Il Polso
- A High Court order has let Najib Razak serve the rest of his SRC International sentence under house arrest, running until August 23, 2028.
- Agriculture minister Mat Sabu has charged that Malaysia risks a two-tiered justice system, sharpening a debate the ruling already stirred.
- He is pushing for a law that would make house arrest open to all convicts, not just those granted royal clemency.
- Sacrificing his full ministerial salary for the rest of the term, he has tied his personal stake to funding NGOs behind the campaign.
- The idea now faces the test of cabinet and parliamentary support, and critics are ready to answer the accusation of unequal justice.
In a country where a former prime minister's fall once seemed to settle a question about accountability, the matter has reopened in a quieter form. Agriculture minister Mat Sabu, while stressing he bears Najib Razak no personal grudge, has argued that equality before the law cannot bend to rank, political reach or family connection. Following a High Court order that lets Najib finish his SRC International sentence at home until August 2028, he has called for legislation that would extend house arrest to every convicted person, and he has pledged his ministerial salary to back the campaign. The proposal leaves the royal pardons untouched; it asks why an exceptional mercy should remain an exception rather than a standard any citizen might reach.
Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu, known as Mat Sabu, has announced he will give up his entire ministerial salary for the rest of the current parliamentary term. He wants that money to support non-governmental organisations campaigning for a law that would allow house arrest for all convicts, not only for former prime ministers.
He made the offer after the High Court allowed Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his SRC International prison sentence at home, with the arrangement running until August 23, 2028. Mohamad was clear that his stance had nothing to do with a personal quarrel with Najib. His concern was principle: equality before the law should not depend on rank, political influence or family ties, and Malaysia cannot sustain a two-tiered system of justice.
The ruling sits at the end of a long road. Najib was jailed in 2022 after the Federal Court upheld his convictions for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million in SRC International funds. Royal pardons later halved his term and reduced his fine, and in September a further conditional pardon from Sultan Ibrahim allowed him to finish his sentence at home, provided he pays the RM50 million fine and meets other conditions.
Mohamad's call does not challenge those pardons. It points to the gap between a route that only royal clemency can open and what ordinary convicts can actually reach under current law. His statement did not explain how such legislation would work. What comes next will show whether the proposal wins backing in cabinet or Parliament, and how critics respond to the charge of two-tiered justice.
Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu, known as Mat Sabu, has said he will give up his entire ministerial salary for the remainder of the current parliamentary term, and the money is meant for a specific purpose. He wants it to fund non-governmental organisations campaigning for a law that would make house arrest available to all convicts, not only to a former prime minister.
Mohamad is the Kota Raja MP and president of Amanah. He made the offer in a statement released after the High Court issued an order a day earlier allowing Najib Razak to serve the rest of his prison sentence in the SRC International case at home. Under that order, the house arrest runs until Aug 23, 2028.
Mohamad was careful to say where his position was coming from. He said it was not motivated by any personal grievance with Najib. His argument was about principle: equality before the law, he said, must not be compromised on the basis of position, political influence or family ties. He added that the law must be fair to all, and that Malaysia cannot practise a two-tiered justice system.
The order at the centre of this follows a chain of decisions on Najib's sentence. He was jailed in August 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction on charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering. The case involved RM42 million in SRC International funds. The sentence was 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million.
In January 2024, the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, granted a royal pardon that halved the prison term and cut the fine to RM50 million.
The next step came in September of this year. The current Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, granted Najib a further conditional pardon. It allowed him to serve what remained of his sentence under house arrest, subject to payment of the RM50 million fine and compliance with other stipulated conditions. The High Court's order this week gave that arrangement its formal effect and its end date.
Mohamad's proposal therefore does not challenge the pardons themselves. It points at the gap between an exceptional route open through royal clemency and what ordinary convicts can access under existing law, and it asks for legislation to close that gap. The statement did not set out the details of how such a law would work.
What to watch now is whether the idea draws support in cabinet or in Parliament, and how critics answer the claim that the country is running a two-tiered system of justice. The salary pledge also gives the campaign a funding source, though the statement did not name which NGOs would receive it.
Citazioni salienti
The principle of equality before the law must not be compromised on the basis of position, political influence or family ties.— Mohamad Sabu, agriculture and food security minister and Amanah president
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