On a Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, a convoy of police and prison vehicles brought former prime minister Najib Razak back to his own home, where he will finish a reduced corruption sentence under house arrest. The move closes a long and bruising dispute that began with a royal pardon and ended in a court order, yet it leaves a shadow over him: a separate 15-year conviction still under appeal. In the larger human story of power that outlasts its holders, this is a familiar scene, a former leader confined not in a cell but in the rooms he once governed from, with the question of whether that confineme
Najib Razak moves to house arrest under royal pardon as minister quits and 15-year sentence stands
House arrest is still imprisonment, because he can't leave without permission
Mark
Najib is home, but he's not free. What exactly changed on Tuesday?
Mimi
He moved from a prison cell to his Kuala Lumpur residence to serve the rest of his reduced six-year sentence. The king's conditional pardon in September made that possible once a fine was paid.
Mark
And the fine was paid by his party, not by him?
Mimi
Yes, UMNO paid it on Friday. He actually left prison that day, then was sent back hours later when the attorney general sought legal clarification.
Luke
Worth being clear about what the reporting does and doesn't say there. We know the attorney general sought clarification. We don't know from this account what the legal objection was.
Mark
Then the king stepped in?
Mimi
He warned against defying the pardon, calling it clear, explicit and without any ambiguity. A High Court order on Tuesday cleared the transfer.
Mark
Anthony Loke resigned. Why does that matter?
Mimi
He's the transport minister, and he quit in protest. It shows the decision is contested inside government, not just outside it.
Luke
Though the report gives us the fact of his resignation and the reason, protest, but nothing on whether others might follow. Let's not read a wave into one departure.
Mark
Could Najib go back to prison?
Mimi
Yes. House arrest runs to August 2028, but a separate 15-year sentence for abuse of power and money laundering is under appeal. If that fails, he could return.
Luke
And the $1 billion figure tied to accounts linked to Najib is a US investigators' estimate. He denies wrongdoing in the looting, so that number isn't a court finding in this account.
O Pulso
- A convoy of police and prison vehicles arrived at Najib Razak's Kuala Lumpur home while supporters waited outside.
- The release stumbled when Najib was briefly freed on Friday, then sent back to prison hours later after the attorney general sought clarification.
- King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar warned that the pardon was clear and must not be defied, pushing the matter toward a court ruling.
- Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned in protest, leaving a political fracture behind the settlement.
- House arrest runs until August 2028, but the appeal against the separate 15-year sentence could still send him back to prison.
On a Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, a convoy of police and prison vehicles brought former prime minister Najib Razak back to his own home, where he will finish a reduced corruption sentence under house arrest. The move closes a long and bruising dispute that began with a royal pardon and ended in a court order, yet it leaves a shadow over him: a separate 15-year conviction still under appeal. In the larger human story of power that outlasts its holders, this is a familiar scene, a former leader confined not in a cell but in the rooms he once governed from, with the question of whether that confinement holds still waiting on a higher court.
A convoy of police and prison vehicles pulled up at Najib Razak's Kuala Lumpur residence on Tuesday, where supporters had gathered outside. The former prime minister, 73, had come home to serve the rest of his corruption sentence under house arrest, after four years behind bars over the 1MDB scandal.
The move followed a royal pardon granted in September by King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, which allows him to finish a reduced six-year sentence at home once a court-imposed fine is paid. His party, the United Malays National Organization, paid that fine on Friday. The path was not smooth. Najib was briefly released that day, then returned to prison hours later while the attorney general sought legal clarity. The king warned against defying the pardon, and a court order on Tuesday settled the matter.
The decision cost the government dearly. Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned in protest. Najib's lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, called it a final relief, while noting that house arrest is still imprisonment, since Najib cannot leave without special permission.
The arrangement lasts until August 2028, but it does not cover a separate 15-year sentence for abuse of power and money laundering. Najib is appealing that conviction, and if the appeal fails, the house in Kuala Lumpur becomes a stop on the way back to prison. Najib, who led the country from 2009 to 2018, denies wrongdoing in the looting of 1MDB, in which about $4.5 billion was taken from the state fund. In 2024 he apologized for mishandling the affair, blaming officials and the fugitive financier Jho Low for misleading him.
A convoy of police and prison vehicles pulled up at Najib Razak's residence in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, with supporters waiting outside. The former Malaysian prime minister, 73, had come home to serve the rest of his corruption sentence under house arrest, after four years in prison over the 1MDB scandal.
The transfer followed a royal pardon and a fresh court ruling that ended a legal dispute over whether he could leave prison at all. The Kuala Lumpur High Court issued the order on Tuesday allowing the move.
The pardon dates to September, when King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar granted Najib a conditional pardon. It lets him complete a reduced six-year sentence at home once a court-imposed fine is paid. His political party, the United Malays National Organization, which governed Malaysia for six decades after independence, paid that fine on Friday.
The release did not go smoothly. Najib briefly left prison on Friday but was returned hours later, after the attorney general sought legal clarification. The king then warned against defying the pardon, which he described as clear, explicit and without any ambiguity. Tuesday's court order settled the matter.
The decision carried a political cost. Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned in protest against letting Najib serve his sentence under house arrest.
Najib's lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, told reporters it was a final relief. He added that house arrest is still imprisonment, because Najib cannot leave the house without special permission or for a special reason.
The arrangement runs until August 2028, but it does not cover a separate 15-year sentence for abuse of power and money laundering. Najib is appealing that conviction and could return to prison if the appeal fails.
Najib was prime minister from 2009 to 2018 and has denied wrongdoing in the looting of 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB. About $4.5 billion was siphoned out of the state investment fund. US investigators say the stolen money paid for luxury properties, a superyacht and artworks, and helped finance The Wolf of Wall Street, a film about financial fraud. They estimated that $1 billion ended up in accounts linked to Najib.
In 2024, Najib apologized for mishandling the affair but said officials and the fugitive financier Jho Low had misled him. What happens next turns on the appeal of the 15-year sentence, which will decide whether the house in Kuala Lumpur is where he stays or a stop on the way back to prison.
Citações Notáveis
It's a final relief.— Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib's lawyer
The pardon is clear, explicit and without any ambiguity.— King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em Deutsche Welle ↗
Crime & Justice