Malaysia AG Seeks Pause in Najib House-Arrest Transfer

Malaysia's Attorney-General's Chambers called Friday for former Prime Minister Najib Razak's move to house arrest to be temporarily suspended, after his party paid the RM50 million fine attached to his conditional royal pardon. Public contributions to a party fund helped cover the payment, while the state now says it needs clarification on how the pardon and court sentences fit together.

Donations reportedly ranged from RM1 to RM10,000 a day before the fund reached its target. UMNO said the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund, launched on Sept. 18 to receive public contributions, raised enough to pay the fine to the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday morning. UMNO secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said, "There is no longer a need for public crowdfunding for this purpose."

A pardon meets the court orders

The AGC said it needs to determine whether payment means Najib must serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug. 23, 2028, or whether the sentence should be considered completed. The chambers also said the status of his remaining sentence in the SRC International case affects implementation of a separate sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case. A court ordered that sentence to begin after completion of the SRC sentence.

The AGC called the situation unprecedented and said it needs clear legal clarification before further action. It said the temporary suspension doesn't question or set aside the king's decree, but is intended to ensure the decree and court orders are implemented accurately and in accordance with the legal position. The chambers said it would act after examining the issues.

Najib's lawyer Farhan Shafee said he had received the house-arrest order and would deliver it to Kajang Prison. He said house arrest could begin Friday if everything went to plan. Najib's aide Ahmad Lutfi Azhar confirmed the payment. His current location was unclear.

Local media reported that Najib, 73, left the prison compound at 2.37 p.m. in a silver car accompanied by escort vehicles and a Malaysian Prisons Department van. Police cordoned off the road to his residence at Jalan Langgak Duta in Kuala Lumpur, setting up tents for crowd control. Police later dismantled the cordon and left at about 7 p.m. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had told him Najib was attending a dental appointment scheduled for Friday.

Who pays, who decides

Najib's legal team had said his ability to pay "does not lie in his own hands" because a significant part of his assets remained subject to freezing orders and enforcement proceedings. The party's crowdfunding drive collected more than RM1 million within a day of its launch. Contributions reportedly averaged RM5,000 to RM10,000 a day before the campaign reached its target, with some as small as RM1.

Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar granted Najib a conditional pardon in September, allowing him to serve the remainder of his six-year term at home until Aug. 23, 2028, subject to payment of the fine and other conditions. The decision followed a meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board chaired by Sultan Ibrahim. Najib had previously pursued a legal battle over what he said was an addendum order by then-King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah allowing house arrest. A Malaysian judge rejected an earlier request for him to serve the rest of his sentence at home.

Najib began serving his sentence at Kajang Prison in August 2022. In July 2020, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million after being convicted of seven charges involving RM42 million transferred from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts in 2014 and 2015. In January 2024, the Pardons Board halved his sentence to six years and reduced his fine to RM50 million. Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing.

The second sentence remains in play

Najib was also sentenced in a separate 1MDB-related case in December 2025 to 15 years in prison and a fine. The sentence was for money laundering and abuse of power. Najib appealed, and his lawyers sought to halt the sentence and fines, citing poor health and inability to pay. The High Court dismissed an application for a stay of execution on Oct. 14. The AGC said the order requiring the 1MDB sentence to begin after the SRC sentence, and the rejected stay application, matter to its review of the house-arrest arrangements.

Najib co-founded 1MDB while in power. Investigators say about $4.5 billion was stolen from the state fund and more than $1 billion was linked to Najib. Public outrage over the scandal led to the ruling coalition's historic 2018 election defeat. Despite his conviction, Najib continues to wield influence in UMNO, which is part of the government that took power in 2022.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he disagreed with UMNO's decision to pay Najib's fine, though he acknowledged it was the party's right. "That should not give the public the impression that acts of corruption involving billions of ringgit can simply be overlooked," he said, according to Bernama.