The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) says the house arrest of former prime minister Najib Razak should be temporarily deferred until legal questions over his conditional pardon and a High Court order are clarified.
In a statement on Friday evening, the AGC said the matter raised complex legal questions that had not arisen before, and that a clear and conclusive explanation was needed before the pardon and the court order were carried out. It said Najib’s detention should stay at his existing place of detention, subject to the powers and directions of the relevant authorities, while the review is under way.
The AGC said the pardon could be read in two ways. Under one reading, paying the RM50 million fine settles only the fine, and Najib’s prison term continues until Aug 23, 2028, with house arrest as another way of serving it. Under the other, paying the fine brings the pardon into full effect, and the whole SRC International sentence, including the prison term, is treated as completed.
It added that the High Court’s Order of Discharge on Payment of Fine, dated Friday, directed Najib’s immediate release while also stating that the rest of his sentence was to be served under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028. The question also affects his separate 1MDB case, in which the court ordered that his prison term begin only after the SRC International sentence ends.
The AGC said the deferment was not meant to question or set aside the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, but to ensure that the decree and the related court orders are carried out correctly and in line with the law. It said it would take further action once the review is complete.
The statement came after Umno paid the RM50 million fine earlier on Friday, a condition of the pardon granted by Sultan Ibrahim in September, and the High Court issued a house arrest order. Najib was driven out of Kajang Prison under tight security in the afternoon, but Transport Minister Anthony Loke later said the Home Minister had told him that Najib had not yet been allowed to return home. Loke has said his resignation as transport minister will take effect once Najib arrives home.
Update: Najib returned to Kajang Prison at about 7.15pm on Friday after a health check at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.