Malaysia's Attorney-General halts Najib's move to house arrest for legal review
Former prime minister Najib Razak remains in Kajang Prison after prosecutors suspended his transfer home despite a royal pardon and a court order.
Malaysia's Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) on Friday (Nov 6) temporarily suspended former prime minister Najib Razak's transfer to house arrest. The move came hours after a court cleared him to leave prison, CNA and The Straits Times reported.
The AGC said "complex legal questions" had arisen over how to interpret the conditional royal pardon King Sultan Ibrahim granted in September, and over the court order allowing Najib's release. CNA reported that Najib, 73, remains in Kajang Prison, where he has been held since 2022.
Under the pardon, Najib can serve the rest of his sentence in the SRC International case at home until August 2028 if he pays a RM50 million fine. His party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), said the fine was paid to the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday morning after a crowdfunding campaign reached its target. According to his lawyers, the High Court then issued sealed orders authorising his discharge.
Najib left the prison in the afternoon. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had told him Najib was attending a scheduled dental appointment. Police had cordoned off the road to his Kuala Lumpur home, but CNA reported the cordon was taken down at around 7pm.
The AGC said it needed clarity on whether paying the fine meant Najib must serve his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, or whether the sentence should be treated as complete. It said the answer affects his separate 15-year sentence in a 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case, which a court has ordered must begin after the SRC term ends. The AGC said the suspension was not meant to question the King's decree.
Najib's lawyers, Shafee & Co, said there was "no lawful reason" to keep him in prison and demanded his immediate release. The Straits Times reported the legal team said the attorney-general had attended a meeting that advised the King on the pardon and raised no concerns. "To claim the power to suspend His Majesty's order by media statement is, in our view, executive overreach," they said.
UMNO secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki asked: "What justification is there for further delaying the implementation of house arrest?" UMNO is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's coalition, whose Pakatan Harapan alliance has opposed leniency for Najib. Loke, who leads the Democratic Action Party, said he would resign from the Cabinet as soon as Najib begins house arrest, The Straits Times reported.
Najib denies wrongdoing over 1MDB, from which US investigators say as much as US$4.5 billion was siphoned. He is appealing his 1MDB conviction from December 2025. The High Court dismissed his application for a stay of that sentence on Oct 14.
The AGC said it would take further action once its examination and clarification were complete.
Sources: The Straits Times, Malaysia Attorney-General intervenes to halt ex-PM Najib’s house arrest transfer; CNA, Ex-Malaysia PM Najib remains in prison as lawyers dispute AGC’s call for temporary halt of his house arrest.
