Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Enters House Arrest

Imprisoned former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak left prison on Tuesday to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence under house arrest at his Kuala Lumpur residence.

Najib, 73, returned home in an SUV escorted by a heavily armed police convoy after a high court cleared the transfer, ending a prison stint that began in August 2022.

The transfer occurred days after his political party paid a 50 million ringgit fine, fulfilling a condition of the royal clemency granted in September by the King of Malaysia.

The implementation had been temporarily deferred last Friday after the attorney general sought legal clarifications regarding the wording of a high court order of discharge and the conditional pardon.

Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the ministry had sought guidance from the Attorney-General's Chambers to ensure the Prisons Department avoided any claim of wrongful detention.

“If the court says it means release, then the Prisons Department must release Najib under that order,” said Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, the Home Affairs Minister.

The palace issued a public rebuke during the deferment, stating that the royal prerogative of pardon was clear and that any attempts to challenge it amounted to defying a royal order.

“It's a final relief, you know, great sigh to him because he has been waiting for this,” said Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the lawyer representing Najib.

The house arrest covers his reduced sentence from his first trial involving funds from SRC International, a former unit of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Najib faces a separate 15-year prison sentence handed down in December for corruption and money laundering linked to a second major trial involving the 1MDB scandal.

He is currently appealing that second sentence, which he is scheduled to serve after his house arrest concludes in August 2028.