Najib Razak granted house arrest in Malaysia after political party pays fine

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is preparing to move from prison to house arrest after a court granted an official transfer order, his legal team confirmed on Friday. The decision follows an announcement by his political party that it had raised and paid the substantial fine mandated by a royal pardon.

The 73-year-old former leader has been serving time in Kajang prison since 2022 following his conviction for corruption linked to the multi-billion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad state investment fund. Defense lawyer Farhan Shafee told reporters that the legal team received the court order and planned to present it immediately to prison authorities, which could allow Najib to return home the same day.

Under the terms granted by Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim in September, Najib was permitted to serve out his sentence at home until August 2028, provided a 50 million ringgit fine was cleared. Because his personal accounts remain frozen, his political organisation, the United Malays National Organisation, launched a crowdfunding effort to gather the required funds and settle the penalty on his behalf.

Najib, who led the country between 2009 and 2018, co-founded the 1MDB fund and was subsequently accused of being tied to the misappropriation of massive public assets. While United States investigators estimated that roughly $4.5 billion was siphoned away globally, including more than $1 billion entering accounts connected to him, Najib has repeatedly denied any criminal behavior and claimed he was made a scapegoat.

The former premier also faces further legal jeopardy. In December of last year, he received an additional 15-year prison sentence and a $2.8 billion fine in another 1MDB case involving money laundering and abuse of office. Although his lawyers sought to suspend that sentence and financial penalty while pursuing an appeal, pointing to health issues and financial hardship, a judge dismissed the bid last month on public interest grounds.

The move to grant Najib house arrest introduces fresh political friction into Malaysia's governing coalition. While UMNO remains a crucial partner in the multi-party government headed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, members of Anwar's own Pakatan Harapan bloc have consistently resisted giving concessions to the former leader.

Critics quickly condemned the arrangement, highlighting the contrast between ordinary public welfare needs and the drive to assist a convicted political heavyweight. With the current parliamentary term running until early 2028, deepening disputes within the ruling alliance could test the government's stability.