Malaysia's Najib gets legal lifeline in house arrest bid over 1MDB sentence
The Federal Court dismissed a government bid to block Najib from seeking access to a purported royal order that he claims would permit him to serve the remainder of his six-year sentence at home rather than in Kajang prison, where he has been held
since August 2022
Najib, 72, was convicted
in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving 42 million ringgit (US$9.8 million) from a former unit of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which he founded during his nine-year premiership.
The legal saga took a new turn
in April last year when Najib claimed that Malaysia's former king, Sultan Abdullah, had issued a supplementary, or 'addendum', order authorising him to serve the balance of his sentence under house arrest.
Malaysia's then king, Sultan Abdullah, speaks to the media during an interview at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur last year. Photo: Reuters
The existence of this order has been hotly disputed by government officials, members of the Pardons Board and the Attorney General's Chambers, despite the former king's office confirming it had been issued.
On Wednesday, a three-member panel of the Federal Court, led by Chief Judge of Malaya Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, ruled unanimously that Najib could pursue his application to confirm and execute the royal order.
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