Malaysian ex-PM Najib Razak granted conditional royal pardon to serve remaining prison term under house arrest

PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been granted a conditional royal pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his current prison sentence under house arrest until 23 August 2028.

The Legal Affairs Division under the Prime Minister’s Department announced the decision on 18 September 2026, following a meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board for Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.

The arrangement is subject to Najib paying a RM50 million (US$12.26 million) fine.

The fine forms part of the reduced sentence granted under an earlier royal pardon in January 2024.

The division said the decision was finalised during the 64th meeting of the Pardons Board, which convened on the morning of 18 September.

“His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia has consented to grant a conditional pardon to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until 23 August 2028, subject to his payment of a fine of RM50 million,” the statement said.

The division did not disclose further specific conditions attached to the house arrest arrangement.

Conditions attached to the pardon

Najib must strictly comply with all statutory terms attached to the royal pardon, according to the Legal Affairs Division.

If he breaches any of the stipulated conditions, the conditional pardon will be automatically revoked. He would then be immediately returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Najib is currently serving his sentence at Kajang Prison. He began serving his jail term in August 2022.

The house-arrest decision follows his appeal to the Federal Territories Pardons Board seeking permission to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

The pardon issue had been closely watched in Malaysia, including after purported documents concerning the house-arrest arrangement circulated on social media late on 17 September.

Earlier disputed documents

The documents, purportedly signed by Sultan Ibrahim and Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh, circulated online and stated that Najib would serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

However, the authenticity of the documents was disputed by Yeoh.

In a Facebook post during the early hours of 18 September, Yeoh said: “The Pardon Board has not met. Please do not share this fake document.”

Yeoh also said the press secretary had made a report to the authorities.

The development came after a 11 September meeting, when Yeoh said she had expressed her views “honestly”, guided by her conscience and the national interest, according to local media.

In a statement issued on 16 September, she said the authority and final decision in such matters rested with the king.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also commented on the Pardons Board’s earlier decision, saying it was made based on the rule of law and should not be viewed through a personal lens.

Najib’s original sentence

Najib, 73, was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million in July 2020.

The sentence followed his conviction on three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power.

The charges concerned RM42 million transferred from SRC International, a former subsidiary of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), into Najib’s personal bank accounts in 2014 and 2015.

A partial royal pardon in January 2024 halved his prison sentence and reduced the fine to RM50 million. His scheduled release date under that reduced sentence was 23 August 2028.

Najib subsequently maintained that the previous king, Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, had issued an addendum order allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

The High Court last year ruled that the alleged addendum order was not enforceable because it had not been deliberated at the January 2024 Pardons Board meeting.

That meeting took place one day before Sultan Abdullah ended his reign as Malaysia’s monarch.

Najib later filed an appeal against the High Court ruling but withdrew it in April 2026. No reason was given in the court documents seen by Malaysian news outlets.

Political background

Najib was Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018 and remains a significant figure within the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and its Barisan Nasional coalition.

Barisan Nasional is part of Malaysia’s unity government alongside Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition and several Borneo-based parties.

Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said last year that his client might return to politics if he were pardoned and released from prison.

At UMNO’s annual general assembly the previous weekend, party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi repeatedly said he hoped for the best ahead of the Pardons Board meeting.

Zahid also said the party had been saddened by the board’s earlier decision to defer consideration of Najib’s pardon application.

“Nevertheless, we remain respectful and express our respect to Tuanku (the king),” Zahid said, according to local media.

Separate 1MDB case

Najib also faces another lengthy prison sentence in a separate case involving 1MDB.

The High Court in December 2025 sentenced him to 15 years in prison and fined him RM11.38 billion on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering.

The case involved allegations concerning RM2.2 billion misappropriated from 1MDB.

The 15-year prison term was due to begin in 2028 after Najib completed his existing sentence. Najib has filed an appeal against the verdict and sentence.