Najib begins house arrest in Malaysia as transport minister steps down

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has returned to his private residence in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his prison term under house arrest, concluding days of legal confusion that triggered a high-level political resignation.

The 73-year-old former leader was transported from Kajang Prison in an escorted sport utility vehicle on the night of November 10, arriving at his home on Jalan Langgak Duta where a group of supporters had gathered. The move came after the Kuala Lumpur High Court amended an earlier ruling to explicitly allow him to complete his sentence for the SRC International corruption case outside prison walls.

Under the fresh directive issued by High Court judge Aslam Zainuddin, a previous discharge order from November 6 was replaced with a conditional arrangement specifying that Najib will remain in home detention until August 23, 2028. The former leader's residence was officially gazetted to function as a detention facility under the supervision of the Prison Department.

The decision ignited immediate political fallout within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's ruling coalition. Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who also serves as secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party, resigned his cabinet post as soon as the court confirmed the transfer. Loke stated that his departure was rooted in principle, arguing that permitting house arrest for such a massive financial scandal would damage the country's reputation and convey the wrong message regarding accountability.

The situation exposed deep friction between the Democratic Action Party, which resisted the move, and the United Malays National Organisation, Najib's party, which strongly supported his release from Kajang Prison.

The transition followed several days of legal and administrative turmoil. Najib was initially due to move to house arrest on November 6 after UMNO paid a 50 million ringgit penalty associated with his conditional royal pardon. However, authorities halted the process over wording issues in the court documentation. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had cautioned that a formal discharge order would eliminate prison oversight entirely, creating potential legal risks regarding wrongful detention.

The postponement prompted criticism from Malaysia's King, Sultan Ibrahim, who voiced dissatisfaction over how the conditional pardon was being executed. In response, the Attorney-General's Chambers submitted an urgent application to rectify the order and align the court's instructions with the royal directive.

Najib had been incarcerated since August 2022 after being convicted of misappropriating 42 million ringgit from SRC International, an entity linked to the 1MDB state fund. His lawyer, Farhan Shafee, stated that the revised ruling covers the remaining time on the SRC conviction and does not address a separate 15-year sentence handed down in 2025 regarding the wider 1MDB scandal, which is currently undergoing an appeal process.