Malaysia’s top court lets Najib pursue legal bid for house arrest
Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak won a significant legal victory on Wednesday, moving closer to serving his jail term for the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal under house arrest.
Najib, imprisoned since August 2022, is seeking a judicial review to compel authorities to recognize a royal addendum issued by former King Al-Sultan Abdullah, which he says entitles him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home. The Federal Court, Malaysia’s highest tribunal, unanimously acknowledged the existence of the document but said it could not verify its authenticity, referring the case to the High Court for further proceedings starting August 18, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, called on the government to honor the addendum, saying, “The minute the king signed the decree, you cannot question his decision.” The case has intensified calls from Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), to grant him house arrest.
Najib was convicted in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for receiving misappropriated funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Investigators say about $1 billion of the $4.5 billion stolen from 1MDB flowed into Najib’s personal accounts. While some 1MDB-related charges have been dropped, Najib is still awaiting a verdict in the largest trial linked to the scandal, with closing arguments expected in October.
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