Court clears ex-Malaysian PM Najib Razak for house arrest after pardon dispute

Court clears the final hurdle

Malaysia's High Court on Tuesday, 10 November, cleared every legal obstacle to moving former prime minister Najib Razak, 73, from prison to his Kuala Lumpur home. Judge Aslam Zainuddin ordered that the remainder of his reduced six-year term be served under house arrest. Najib's lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said the move to the residence at No. 11 Langgak Duta would happen later that day, and police later sealed off the road leading to the house.

“In accordance with the order of conditional pardon, the accused shall serve the remainder of the reduced sentence of six years' imprisonment under house arrest.”

Pardon, fine and a blocked transfer

King Sultan Ibrahim granted the conditional pardon in September, allowing Najib to finish his sentence at home once he paid a court-imposed fine. On Friday, 6 November, his party paid the 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million) fine, and he left prison that day. Hours later, however, the attorney general blocked the transfer and asked for legal clarification on the pardon and the court order. The palace responded publicly, saying the pardon was clear and must be respected, and that any challenge would amount to defying the royal order. In a statement on Saturday, 7 November, the king said the pardon left no room for confusion and was not tied to any other case against the former leader.

A conviction, a 15-year term and the appeals

Najib served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018 and lost power in the 2018 election amid the 1MDB scandal. He was convicted of graft after $4.5 billion disappeared from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state investment fund he founded and oversaw. Funds were diverted to private spending such as a giant yacht and works of art. The Kuala Lumpur High Court upheld that conviction in August 2022, and he has been behind bars since then. He denies any wrongdoing and is Malaysia's first former leader imprisoned under a 1MDB-related sentence. A separate 15-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, imposed in December 2025 in a second 1MDB trial, is due to start only after house arrest ends, and he is appealing it.

What happens next

House arrest runs until 23 August 2028. The house arrest covers only the six-year term from the first trial, not the 15-year sentence. If his appeal of that sentence fails, he could return to prison once house arrest ends. His lawyers have asked that the jail term and fines in that case be halted, citing poor health and his inability to pay the fine.

“It's a final relief, you know, great sigh to him because he has been waiting for this.”