A former prime minister, now seventy-two, has heard a court decline to let him finish his sentence at home, and so he remains behind the walls of Kajang Prison. The dispute turns on a royal document whose existence the former king's office affirms while government officials long claimed no knowledge of it, a reminder of how fragile paper can be when power is involved. In a nation where Najib still divides opinion and still commands loyalty within his party, the ruling is less an ending than a pause before the appeal and a second verdict later this week.
Najib Razak Loses Bid to Serve Jail Term Under House Arrest; Appeal Expected
Najib, 72, a former prime minister, remains imprisoned at Kajang Prison after the court rejected his bid to serve the rest of his six-year sentence under house arrest.
The document exists, say Najib and the palace; the authorities say they never saw it.
Mark
So what actually happened on Monday?
Mimi
The High Court rejected Najib's request to serve the rest of his sentence at home. He stays at Kajang Prison, and his lawyers say they will appeal.
Mark
What is his argument?
Mimi
That when the Pardons Board halved his sentence from 12 years to six, the then-king also issued an addendum order permitting house arrest.
Luke
Is that order confirmed to exist?
Mimi
The former king's office has confirmed a royal document was issued, and Najib and the palace both say it exists. What it says and whether it is legally binding is the matter the court has now ruled on.
Luke
The report doesn't give Justice Loke's reasoning, though. We know the outcome, not why.
Mimi
Right. The reasoning isn't in what we have, so I won't guess at it.
Mark
Why did officials deny knowing about it?
Mimi
Several authorities, including Pardons Board members, said they knew nothing of it. Anwar said nothing was concealed and that it went to the Attorney General, not to him or board members.
Luke
So the denials and the explanation sit side by side, and nothing here settles which account is right.
Mark
What comes next?
Mimi
An appeal, and on December 26 a verdict in the 1MDB case involving RM2.2 billion, where he denies all charges.
Il Polso
- A seventy-two-year-old former prime minister heard the High Court refuse his bid for house arrest, sending him back to Kajang Prison.
- A royal addendum order that officials said they never saw has become the pivot of a dispute that is unsettling trust in government records.
- Supporters gathered outside the Kuala Lumpur courthouse in a crowd of hundreds, including members of UMNO, turning the hearing into a public rally.
- His defence is preparing an appeal, pressing forward through a legal path that has already swung between acquittal and reversal.
- A separate verdict on 1MDB charges lands on December 26, and it could reshape both his prison term and any political comeback.
A former prime minister, now seventy-two, has heard a court decline to let him finish his sentence at home, and so he remains behind the walls of Kajang Prison. The dispute turns on a royal document whose existence the former king's office affirms while government officials long claimed no knowledge of it, a reminder of how fragile paper can be when power is involved. In a nation where Najib still divides opinion and still commands loyalty within his party, the ruling is less an ending than a pause before the appeal and a second verdict later this week.
On Monday, hundreds gathered outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court to stand with Najib Razak, the former prime minister, many of them from the United Malays National Organisation. Inside, Justice Alice Loke rejected his request to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. At seventy-two, he will remain at Kajang Prison in Selangor.
The ruling marks another turn in a dispute that began in April 2024. Najib's argument rests on a claim that when the Pardons Board halved his sentence, the then-king also signed an addendum allowing him to finish his term at home. Government bodies denied knowing of any such document, yet the former king's office confirmed one had been issued. His defence has promised an appeal.
How he arrived here is a matter of record. He was convicted in 2020 over RM42 million moved from SRC International into his personal accounts, and he began serving his sentence in 2022. The sentence was cut in early 2024, just before the then-king stepped down, to six years and a fine of RM50 million. The house arrest question has since passed back and forth through the courts, from dismissal to reversal to a Federal Court order for a fresh hearing.
He is not finished with the courts. On Friday, a verdict is due in a separate case involving RM2.2 billion in alleged 1MDB transfers. He denies the charges, and his political future remains contested in a country where his name still stirs strong feelings.
On Monday, December 22, hundreds of people gathered outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court, among them supporters from the United Malays National Organisation, to stand with Najib Razak. Inside, Justice Alice Loke rejected his bid to serve the rest of his prison sentence under house arrest. The 72-year-old former prime minister will stay at Kajang Prison in Selangor.
The ruling is the latest step in a legal effort that began in April 2024. Najib's case rests on a claim that when the Pardons Board halved his sentence, the then-king also issued an addendum order allowing him to serve the remainder at home. His defence has said it will appeal.
How he got here is a matter of record. Najib began his sentence in August 2022, after the High Court found him guilty in July 2020 of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power. The charges concerned RM42 million moved in 2014 and 2015 from SRC International into his personal bank accounts. SRC was a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state investment fund Najib founded in 2009. He was prime minister from 2009 to 2018.
The original sentence was 12 years in jail and a fine of RM210 million. Just before stepping down on January 30, 2024, Malaysia's then-king, Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, cut that to six years and a fine of RM50 million. The Pardons Board, headed by the king, announced the reduction on February 2 last year.
The house arrest case has taken a winding route through the courts. The High Court dismissed it in July last year. An appeals court overturned that in a 2-1 split decision in January this year. The Federal Court, Malaysia's top tribunal, later upheld the appeals court and sent the case back to the High Court to be heard. The decision had been set for January 5, but last month the court granted a request from Najib's lawyers to bring it forward to December 22.
The case has also stirred intrigue because of the document at its centre. For months, several government authorities, including members of the Pardons Board, denied knowing of any royal document, even though the former king's office confirmed one had been issued. Najib and the ex-king's palace have both said it exists, and his legal team says the authorities ignored it. In January, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government concealed nothing, and that the document was sent to the Attorney General rather than to him or any other Pardons Board member.
Najib's legal troubles are not over. This Friday, December 26, the court is due to deliver its verdict in a separate case in which he faces four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering. They relate to RM2.2 billion in illegal transfers from 1MDB. He has denied the charges.
His case remains closely watched in Malaysia, where he continues to polarise opinion. He is said to harbour hopes of a political comeback, and as a former UMNO president he retains significant influence in a party that sits in Anwar's ruling coalition. The next things to watch are the defence's appeal and Friday's verdict.
Citazioni salienti
The government did not conceal any document; it was sent to the Attorney General, not to him or other Pardons Board members.— Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, January
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Crime & Justice