A Malaysian court on Monday rejected a request by jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence at home. The ruling is the first of two key decisions he faces this week over his role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Najib has been in prison since 2022. His original 12-year jail sentence was halved last year by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia’s former king. He claims an “addendum order” from the monarch converted the sentence to house arrest and has sought government confirmation of the document.
Court Decision
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that while the addendum’s existence is not disputed, it is not legally enforceable, as it was issued without the consultation of the pardons board, a constitutional requirement.
Judge Alice Loke said:
“The addendum order was not deliberated nor decided at the pardons board meeting … Consequently, it is not a valid order.”
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the former prime minister will appeal the decision.
Najib Faces Additional Jail Time
The ruling comes four days before a verdict in Najib’s largest 1MDB-related trial, in which he faces four corruption charges and 21 counts of money laundering tied to the alleged misappropriation of about 2.2 billion ringgit ($539 million).
If convicted, Najib could face up to 20 years’ imprisonment per charge, and fines up to five times the value of the alleged misappropriations.
1MDB Scandal Overview
The 1MDB state fund, co-founded by Najib in 2009, is alleged to have had $4.5 billion misappropriated by high-level officials and associates. More than $1 billion allegedly flowed into Najib’s personal accounts.
Najib was found guilty of graft and money laundering in 2020 and became the first Malaysian prime minister to go to prison after losing all appeals. He has consistently denied wrongdoing, claiming he was misled about the fund by financier Jho Low and others.
Political Implications
The case is seen as a test of Malaysia’s judiciary and anti-corruption drive under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who took office in 2022 on a reform platform.
Analyst Bridget Welsh said:
“It’s a test of the prosecution, it’s a test of the judiciary, it’s a test of political will.”
Questions remain about the independence of prosecutors, as Anwar’s government has faced criticism for dropping charges against Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, in related cases.
With information from Reuters.
