Malaysian court rejects Najib’s bid to serve sentence under house arrest

A court in Malaysia has ‍dismissed jailed ‍former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bid to serve the remainder of his sentence for corruption at his home, ruling that a royal document allowing the ⁠move was not valid.

The decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday dealt another blow to Najib, who has been imprisoned since August 2022 for his role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.

Najib, 72, had sought to compel Malaysian authorities to ‍confirm the ⁠existence of and execute a royal order that he said was issued last year as part of a pardon by the then-king.

He said the “addendum order” entitled him to serve the remainder of his sentence at ​home.

The king plays a largely ceremonial role in Malaysia but can pardon convicted people as one of the discretionary powers granted to him by the federal constitution.

Judge Alice Loke said on Monday that the existence of the order was not in dispute, but the order was not legally enforceable as it was not made with the consultation of the country’s pardons board, as required under the constitution.

While Malaysia’s rulers are allowed to issue pardons according to their discretion, their powers are not without limits, she said.

“The court ruled that the king could not grant house arrest independently of the pardons board,” she wrote. “I’m of the view that a house arrest order is not capable of execution, no legal provision for such a mechanism in Malaysia.”

‘Shocking’

Najib did not show much emotion, and later smiled when his lawyer described the ruling as “shocking” after the judge left the courtroom.

The lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, told The Star newspaper that the former leader will appeal the verdict.

Najib was originally sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in July 2020 in a first trial involving some 42 million ringgit ($9.9m at the time), siphoned from a former 1MDB subsidiary called SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The term was later halved by a pardons board.

Former Malaysian parliament member Charles Santiago, who had pushed for the prosecution of Najib, hailed Monday’s ruling in a social media post.

“Faith in the judiciary restored,” he wrote.

Najib faces another verdict this week in a separate trial linked to the financial scandal at 1MDB, the state fund that he co-founded in 2009.

The verdict on Friday is seen as the main case against Najib.

He faces four counts of abuse of power to obtain some 2.28 billion ringgit ($554m) from 1MDB funds, as well as 21 counts of money laundering.

Prosecutors say Najib abused his position as then prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB advisory board chairman to move large amounts of money from the fund to his personal account more than a decade ago.

The prosecution presented bank records, documents and testimony from more than 50 witnesses.

Najib denies any wrongdoing and defence lawyers blamed Najib’s close associate, the shadowy fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.

If found guilty, Najib faces up to 20 years in prison for each count of abuse of power and up to five years for each of the money laundering charges.

Campaign against corruption

Both court rulings are being closely watched as a test of current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s campaign against corruption.

Anwar, who came to power in 2022 on an anti-corruption platform, has faced repeated questions about his commitment to reform as prosecutors dropped several charges against Najib. This ‍month, prosecutors also abandoned an appeal against the acquittal of Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor in a separate graft case.

Anwar has said he does not interfere in court cases, though the country’s attorney generals are appointed by the prime minister and their independence has often been questioned.

Najib set up the 1MDB development fund shortly after he took office in 2009. Investigators allege at least $4.5bn was stolen from the fund and laundered by Najib’s associates through layers of bank accounts in the US and other countries.

The funds were allegedly used to finance Hollywood films and extravagant purchases that included hotels, a luxury yacht, art and jewelry.

A national outrage over the 1MDB scandal led to the historic 2018 election defeat of the party that had governed Malaysia since independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.

Despite his conviction, Najib still holds clout in his party, the United Malays National Organization, which is now part of Anwar‘s unity government that took power after elections in 2022.