Malaysia’s High Court replaced former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s discharge order Tuesday, directing him to serve his remaining SRC International sentence at home through Aug. 23, 2028, ending an immediate dispute over his transfer.
Judge Aslam Zainuddin set aside the Nov. 6 Order of Discharge on Payment of Fine and directed Najib to remain at his Kuala Lumpur residence for the balance of his reduced six-year term. The order took effect immediately.
Najib was moved to the residence that evening and arrived at about 9:30 p.m. MYT (UTC+8), The Straits Times reported.
King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a conditional pardon on Sept. 18, allowing him to serve the remaining SRC sentence at home through Aug. 23, 2028, subject to a RM50 million fine and other conditions. The fine was paid Nov. 6.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said Nov. 6 it had paused the transfer while seeking clarification on whether the fine and discharge order ended the SRC prison term or left time to serve at home. It said the legal interpretation also affected enforcement of Najib’s separate sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case. Attorney-General Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar told Bernama Nov. 10 that the AGC had asked the court to replace the discharge order with one consistent with the pardon.
The ruling follows EconoTimes’ earlier report on the High Court order directing Najib to serve his SRC sentence at home.
Bernama reported Najib had been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since Aug. 23, 2022, after his conviction in the SRC International case involving RM42 million. Najib was Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018. The SRC case is linked to 1MDB, the state investment fund at the center of a major corruption scandal. His separate 15-year sentence in the 1MDB case remains under appeal.
The Straits Times reported that Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned after Tuesday’s ruling, citing principles he had outlined earlier. The newspaper also reported that UMNO supported Najib’s return home while the Democratic Action Party opposed house arrest.
