Malaysia’s attorney general has asked the High Court to review the order allowing former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the rest of his prison sentence under house arrest, reopening a legal row that has kept him in prison despite a royal pardon.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers filed the application on Tuesday, seeking a fresh order in line with the conditional pardon granted by King Sultan Ibrahim on 18 September. Attorney-General Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said the chambers wanted the discharge order issued on 6 November reviewed, state news agency Bernama reported.
Najib, prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was jailed over the multi-billion-dollar scandal at state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Under the September pardon he was allowed to serve the remaining two years of his sentence at home.
The dispute began on Friday, when his party, UMNO, paid a RM50 million fine imposed in the SRC International case — one of the conditions attached to the pardon. A High Court discharge order then directed his immediate release from Kajang Prison, with the remainder of his sentence to be served under house arrest until 23 August 2028.
Within hours, prosecutors intervened to defer the transfer, saying questions had arisen over the legal interpretation of the pardon and the court order. Najib has remained in prison since.
At the heart of the row is whether paying the fine settles only the financial penalty — leaving the prison term in force until August 2028, served at home — or whether it means the SRC sentence has been fully completed. The distinction matters because the prison term in Najib’s separate 1MDB case was ordered to run consecutively, so it would begin immediately if the SRC sentence were declared complete. The High Court dismissed his application to stay the 1MDB sentence on 14 October.
King Sultan Ibrahim warned on Saturday that any attempt to challenge his order to let Najib leave jail could amount to defiance of his decree. The Attorney-General’s Chambers has said it fully respects the King’s constitutional prerogative to grant pardons and that the validity of the pardon is not in question — only the effect of the discharge order.
Najib, 73, has been in Kajang Prison since 23 August 2022 after being convicted of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International. The Pardons Board reduced his original 12-year sentence to six years in February 2024 and cut his fine to RM50 million.
His lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, was expected to appear before Judge Aslam Zainuddin at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur at 2.30pm on Tuesday, when the attorney general’s application is due to be heard.
Sources: Reuters, “Malaysian attorney general seeks High Court review of Najib house arrest order, Bernama reports”, 10 November 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysian-attorney-general-seeks-high-court-review-najib-house-arrest-order-2026-11-10/ ; Business Today, “AGC Seeks High Court Review Of Najib’s House Arrest Discharge Order”, 10 November 2026 — https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2026/11/10/agc-seeks-high-court-review-of-najibs-house-arrest-discharge-order/
Note: The featured image is a file photo from 2011, not a current image.
