Malaysia Attorney General Suspends Former Prime Minister Najib Razak House Arrest Order

Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar halted the transfer of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak from prison to house arrest on Friday, prompting a public rebuke from the national palace on Saturday.

King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar stated through the palace that the royal prerogative granting Najib a conditional pardon to serve his remaining sentence under house arrest was clear, valid, and must be respected, warning that challenging the decree amounts to insubordination. Najib's legal team, Messrs Shafee & Co., demanded his immediate transfer home on Saturday, arguing that the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) suspension contradicts the royal decree.

A Kuala Lumpur High Court order issued on November 6 discharged liability after the payment of an RM50 million fine. Najib's lawyers argued that the fine payment satisfied all conditions for the pardon linked to his SRC International conviction. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the Attorney General sought an audience with the King to explain legal complications involving Najib's separate 15-year sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption case.

Anwar noted that the judiciary may need to clarify how the conditional pardon interacts with the ongoing 1MDB sentence. Police officers who guarded Najib's residence in Taman Duta on Friday were no longer present outside the property on Saturday. Leaders from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), including Pontian division chief Ahmad Maslan, lodged police reports on Saturday protesting the delay in implementing the royal order, while Democratic Action Party leaders noted Transport Minister Anthony Loke's resignation remains conditional on whether Najib is transferred to house arrest.