M’sia Ex-PM Najib Razak files legal bid asking to serve remaining sentence at home

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose 12-year jail term was halved by the Royal Pardon Board in February, has initiated legal proceedings to request serving his reduced sentence under house arrest.

Najib submitted a court document asserting that an addendum order by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah was part of his pardon.

“On 29 January, the then King ordered that the applicant’s (Najib) imprisonment be reduced to six years and the fine reduced to RM50 million (main order).”

“Simultaneously, an addendum order was issued, specifying that I serve the reduced sentence under house arrest instead of confinement in Kajang Prison,” the document stated.

“The fact that the Addendum Order wasn’t announced alongside the Main Order raises questions that remain unanswered,” Najib stated in his application.

Seven respondents were named in Najib’s suit, including the Home Minister, Commissioner General of Prisons, Attorney General, Federal Territories Pardons Board, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Director General of Legal Affairs Division, and the Malaysian government.

In the application, Najib alleged he received confirmation of the Addendum Order on 12 February, allowing him to serve his reduced prison sentence under house arrest.

Najib’s application is scheduled for a hearing before High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh on 4 April.

Najib has been imprisoned since 23 August 2022, following the Federal Court’s confirmation of his convictions for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering related to the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds, accompanied by an RM210 million (approximately US$44.5 million) fine.

On 2 February, the Pardon’s Board reduced Najib’s sentence from 12 to six years for misappropriating funds amounting to RM50 million (approximately US$10.6 million), potentially enabling his release on 23 August 2028.

Najib stated his lawyers had reached out to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and de facto law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, seeking confirmation of the supplementary order.

Najib argued that the Agong’s orders carry both legal and moral authority, and the respondent’s failure to respond constitutes a violation of his constitutional rights and a contempt of the institution of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

“Therefore the respondents’ disregard to the requests of the applicant constitutes a direct intrusion of the applicant’s basic right as provided in the Constitution and the laws generally.”

“In addition, the defiance of the respondents amounts to a direct contempt of the institution of the King.”

Najib further argued, “The respondents’ refusal to acknowledge the existence of the supplementary order, despite my requests for clarification, coupled with the subsequent inaction by the Prison Department and the Home Minister to implement the said order, is not only irrational and unreasonable but also illegal and arbitrary.”

Among other requests, Najib seeks relief from the court to compel the respondents to enforce the supplementary order.

Public concerns grow over the fate of Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor in ongoing 1MDB cases

Civil society group in Malaysia in October last year warned that if Najib and Rosmah are released from corruption charges, it could have detrimental consequences, damaging Malaysia’s rule of law and deterring global investors.

They called for a temporary halt to applications for Discharge Not Amounting to Acquittal (DNAA) or complete acquittals in cases involving politicians.

The Malaysian Bar earlier resolved to legally contest the Pardons Board’s decision. T the organization criticized Najib Razak for actions leading to Malaysian taxpayers shouldering the burden of 1MDB debts surpassing RM50 billion.

Additionally, they highlighted the ongoing Tanore trial, where Najib Razak is accused of receiving USD600 million of 1MDB’s funds.

The Malaysian Bar further questioned the processing of Najib Razak’s pardon application, considering he had served only 1½ years of his jail sentence.

The Malaysian Bar emphasized that the 1MDB scandal has severely damaged Malaysia’s international reputation, citing remarks by Loretta Lynch, the former US Attorney General, and the description of the scandal as the largest kleptocracy investigated in US history.

“(The case) being the subject of a Netflix Documentary “Men on the Run”. Indeed, the Court of Appeal in the SRC appeal called it “a national embarrassment”.”

Regarding the Pardons Board’s decision, the Malaysian Bar deemed it to have acted “ultra vires” Article 42 of the Federal Constitution and in contravention of the law.