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Should Malaysia’s Najib be under house arrest? Jailed ex-PM persists with pursuit of early release
- Malaysia’s disgraced ex-PM Najib Razak is persisting with his claim that he should be allowed to finish his jail sentence from the comfort of his home
- His legal team says a decree ordering his early release was issued by the former king. A court on Wednesday said it would rule on the case on June 5
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Lawyers for jailed ex-prime minister Najib Razak on Wednesday again sought to persuade a court that the disgraced politician was indeed eligible for house arrest, less than two years into his sentence for plundering scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB, citing a royal decree supposedly issued by Malaysia’s former king.
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The move comes mere months after the pardons board in February announced that Najib’s 12-year jail term would be halved and his fine reduced to 50 million ringgit (US$10.5 million) from 210 million ringgit previously.
Public outrage followed that decision, as Malaysians balked at the perceived leniency being extended to a corrupt former prime minister who was convicted in 2020 of siphoning off some 42 million ringgit (US$8.8 million) from a former unit of 1MDB.
On Wednesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court set a date of June 5 to make a decision on whether Najib can proceed with an application to be freed on house arrest, his lawyers said.
Najib has been serving his sentence in Kuala Lumpur’s Kajang prison since August 2022.
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Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, head of Najib’s legal team, argued on Wednesday that Malaysia’s previous king had issued a supplementary decree through official channels ordering that Najib be released from prison and placed under house arrest, but the order was not enforced.
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