Former Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak faces an immediate return to prison if he breaches house-arrest terms barring political activity and restricting public communications.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia’s lower house, on Thursday, Nov. 12, that Najib may not attend public gatherings or make statements or comments to news media or through social media.
Najib must stay at No. 11, Jalan Langgak Duta, in Kuala Lumpur. He needs written permission to leave or change addresses. The approved household can include his wife, children, grandchildren and his children’s spouses; anyone else must obtain written authorization before visiting. The Prisons Department must register the communications devices he may use, and he must take part in rehabilitation programs.
The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department said a conditional pardon granted Sept. 18, 2026, after a Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting allowed Najib to serve the balance of his sentence at home, subject to payment of a 50 million ringgit fine. Court proceedings show he paid the fine on Nov. 6. The division said a breach would revoke the pardon and require him to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison immediately.
The 2026 conditional pardon followed a separate 2024 decision that cut Najib’s original 12-year prison term to six years and reduced his fine from 210 million ringgit to 50 million ringgit. On Nov. 10, High Court Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin reversed a discharge order issued four days earlier and directed Najib to complete the balance of his reduced SRC International term at home. The court set Aug. 23, 2028, as the end date. EconoTimes previously reported on Najib’s move to his Kuala Lumpur home under the order.
The home arrangement applies only to the SRC International case. Najib also faces a separate 15-year sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case; CNA reported that he is appealing it. CNA also reported Saifuddin said nine prison officers would cover three shifts at the residence, reassigned from Kajang Prison without additional deployment cost.
Saifuddin said the conditions could guide later house-arrest cases. He plans to propose to the Cabinet on Friday, Nov. 13, that it declassify the Pardons Board meeting minutes.
