Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib granted conditional house arrest

KUALA LUMPUR – Jailed former Malaysian premier Najib Razak has been granted conditional permission to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest, a development that could widen the rift between the ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the Barisan Nasional (BN) bloc in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet.The Federal Territories Pardons Board, chaired by Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johor, has commuted Najib’s remaining jail term to house arrest on condition that Najib pays a RM50 million (S$15.5 million) fine.“If he fails to comply with any of the conditions, then this conditional pardon is void, and he must immediately continue serving the remainder of his sentence in prison,” said the Law Department of the Prime Minister’s Department in a statement on Sept 18, following the board’s meeting.The move came just a week after the matter was deferred at the board’s last meeting on Sept 11.Najib, 73, was the country’s prime minister for nine years. He was arrested in July 2018 and charged with breach of trust and abuse of power in a case linked to Malaysia’s state fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).He was convicted by the court and, in August 2022, started serving a 12-year jail sentence for misappropriating RM42 million (S$13 million) of funds from SRC International, a former company under 1MDB.The jail sentence was halved in 2024 by the then Malaysian King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, who chaired a Pardons Board meeting. Najib’s original fine of RM210 million was also reduced to RM50 million.Since then, Najib has been pursuing a legal bid to compel the government to confirm and execute an “addendum order”, which he claimed was also issued by Sultan Abdullah to the Pardons Board, and entitled him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.Late in 2025, the High Court ruled that the addendum was unenforceable because it had not been considered by the Pardons Board. Consequently, it was deemed unconstitutional, as royal prerogative must be exercised only on the board’s advice.Although Najib may have got his wish for house arrest in this latest twist in the saga, there is still the High Court ruling in December 2025 to abide by. Then, Najib was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison after being found guilty in his second major 1MDB trial. He was also fined RM11.4 billion, in default of which he would serve another 10 years in prison. That sentence will run after Najib completes his jail term from the earlier case, which is scheduled to end in August 2028.The latest development could widen the rift between reform-minded PH and the Barisan Nasional (BN) bloc. Granting house arrest damages PH’s credibility with voters who demand legal accountability and justice. Conversely, UMNO, the leading party in unity government ally BN, views the leniency towards its former president as vital to reviving its political fortunes.Sign up for our weekly Asian Insider Malaysia Edition newsletter to make sense of the big stories in Malaysia