Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak loses house arrest bid in High Court

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday (Dec 22) rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bid to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

The ruling means the 72-year-old will continue serving his jail term at Selangor’s Kajang Prison. 

Justice Alice Loke’s decision marks the latest development in Najib’s legal bid for house arrest that began in April 2024. The defence has indicated it will file an appeal.

The judge said the king must exercise his power and functions in accordance with the provisions of the federal constitution. 

“The exercise of the prerogative of power of mercy is no exception. It must be exercised within the legal framework providing for safeguards and limits in the constitution,” she said. 

She said that the royal addendum order was not deliberated or decided on at the 61st Pardons Board meeting in January last year when it agreed to reduce Najib’s sentence. 

The order did not comply with Article 42 of Malaysia’s federal constitution, which grants the King and State Rulers or Governors the power to grant pardons, reprieves and respites for offences, the judge added. 

“Consequently, it is not a valid order. The respondents have no power and no duty to obey or enforce it. Conversely the applicant has no right to the relief of mandamus. In the circumstance, the judicial review application is therefore dismissed,” she said. 

Najib began his jail term in August 2022 after he was found guilty of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power by the High Court in July 2020.

The charges involved the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad – the state investment fund Najib founded in 2009 – into his personal bank accounts in 2014 and 2015. Najib was prime minister from 2009 to 2018.

He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million, but Malaysia’s then-king Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah reduced it to six years’ jail and an RM50 million fine just before stepping down on Jan 30, 2024. The Pardons Board, headed by the king, announced the sentence reduction on Feb 2 last year.

On Monday, hundreds of people including supporters from Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party gathered outside the court in solidarity with the former prime minister.