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Malaysia court grants jailed ex-PM Najib access to house arrest decree

Malaysia’s appeals court has granted jailed ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak access to a royal decree he claims supports his right to house arrest, in a rare legal victory. The court ruled 2-1 to allow Najib to use the document in his ongoing legal battle before the High Court.

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Photo: fotoBERNAMA

In a significant legal development, Malaysia’s Court of Appeal has granted former Prime Minister Najib Razak access to a royal decree he claims supports his right to serve his sentence under house arrest.

The decision, reached on 6 January 2025, saw a three-member judicial panel rule 2-1 in Najib’s favour.

The ruling allows the disgraced former leader to present the decree in his ongoing appeal before the High Court. Najib, who is serving a six-year sentence linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, has long argued that the document was issued alongside a 2023 royal pardon that halved his original 12-year jail term.

“Given the fact that there is no challenge [of the existence of the decree], there is no justification that the order has not been complied with,” said Judge Mohamad Firuz Jaffril, one of the two judges who ruled in Najib’s favour.

Najib had earlier contested a lower court’s decision in July 2024, which dismissed his bid to confirm and enforce the alleged house arrest order. The purported decree was said to be an addendum to the 2023 royal pardon issued by the then-King, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah.

Malaysia’s home minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, however, clarified on Monday that the prisons department had received no formal communication regarding a house arrest order for Najib. “The government will fully implement royal orders if received,” he stated during a press conference.

Under Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy, the king holds authority to grant pardons and issue related decisions, with input from the pardons board. However, the absence of an official notification from the monarch or the board has raised questions about the existence and enforceability of the house arrest decree.

Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, expressed relief over the court’s decision. “Najib is very happy and relieved that finally some element of injustice has been recognised,” he told reporters.

Najib, 71, was convicted in 2020 on charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering involving funds misappropriated from a unit of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Investigations by Malaysian and United States authorities estimate that $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB, with over $1 billion allegedly channelled to accounts linked to Najib.

Despite his conviction, Najib continues to face several other 1MDB-related corruption trials. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that the allegations are politically motivated.

The royal pardon and Najib’s alleged house arrest decree have been a source of public controversy in Malaysia. Critics argue that any leniency extended to Najib undermines justice, given the scale of the 1MDB scandal, which has been described as one of the largest financial frauds in history.

The court’s decision to grant Najib access to the decree marks a rare legal victory for the former premier. However, the outcome of his appeal before the High Court remains uncertain. The case is likely to have wide-ranging implications for the judicial system and public perception of accountability for high-profile corruption in Malaysia.

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