Malaysian court approves Najib Razak’s move to house arrest
The ruling allows the former prime minister to complete his reduced six-year sentence under house arrest following a dispute over the terms of a royal pardon.
By Larissa Bell ·
A Malaysian court has approved a transfer to house arrest for jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak, following a legal dispute that delayed his departure from prison. The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled on Tuesday, November 10, that he should serve the remainder of his reduced six-year sentence at home under the terms of a conditional pardon.
Judge Aslam Zainuddin said the move was required by the pardon order. Najib, 73, received the conditional pardon in September after being imprisoned over his involvement in the theft of public funds from the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB. The theft was among the largest involving public money ever recorded.
The transfer had been expected on Friday, after Najib’s political party paid a $12 million fine required under the royal pardon. But the attorney general intervened at the last minute to postpone it, raising questions about how to interpret both the pardon and the court order permitting Najib to leave prison.
King Sultan Ibrahim warned that efforts to contest his instruction allowing Najib to move from prison to house arrest could constitute defiance of his decree. Malaysia’s monarchy rotates among nine regional sultans. Although the king’s duties are largely ceremonial, the Constitution gives the monarch discretionary authority to grant pardons.
Reporting outside the courthouse in Kuala Lumpur, Al Jazeera correspondent Rob McBride described the dispute as a source of political and constitutional controversy. He said the king had expressed displeasure over the attorney general’s intervention during the weekend and regarded it as setting a difficult precedent. McBride said the episode highlighted the delicate relationship among Malaysia’s monarchy, courts and government.
Tuesday’s decision concerns only Najib’s first conviction. The permission to serve that sentence under house arrest does not cover a separate case linked to 1MDB in which he was found guilty last year.
That second conviction carries an additional 15-year prison sentence, which is scheduled to begin once his period under house arrest has ended. Najib has appealed the case.
His lawyers have also asked for the prison term and fines in that case to be put on hold. In making that request, they cited his poor health and his inability to pay the fine.
