The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has called for the temporary suspension of Najib Razak’s house arrest pending clarification of the legal interpretation of his conditional royal pardon.
In a statement, the AGC said Najib’s existing detention status should be maintained until legal issues surrounding the pardon and the High Court’s release order had been resolved.
The statement came hours after Umno settled Najib’s RM50 million fine and the High Court issued an Order of Discharge on Payment of Fine, directing his immediate release while requiring him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.
AGC identifies two possible interpretations
The AGC said two possible interpretations had emerged from the conditional pardon granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, on Sept 18.
The first was that payment of the RM50 million fine fulfilled only the fine component of the sentence, while Najib’s prison sentence in the SRC International case remained in force until Aug 23, 2028.
Under this interpretation, house arrest would be an alternative method or place for serving the remainder of the prison sentence, rather than bringing the sentence to an end.
The second interpretation was that payment of the RM50 million fine could mean the entire SRC International sentence, including the prison term, was considered completed.
The AGC said the issue also involved the legal effect of the High Court’s Order of Discharge on Payment of Fine, dated Nov 6, 2026, which was issued after the payment was recorded.
The order directed Najib’s immediate release while also stating that he must serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, pursuant to the conditional pardon.
Implications for Najib’s separate 1MDB sentence
The AGC said the legal questions could also affect Najib’s separate prison sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case, which was ordered to begin after the completion of his SRC International sentence.
It said the matter required further examination, particularly as the High Court had dismissed Najib’s application for a stay of execution in the 1MDB case on Oct 14.
Given the complexity of the legal issues, their implications for the implementation of the royal pardon and court orders, and the unprecedented nature of the situation, the AGC said clear and definitive legal clarification was necessary before further steps were taken.
It therefore called for the implementation of Najib’s house arrest to be temporarily deferred until the interpretation of the conditional pardon and the legal effect of the court’s discharge order had been clarified.
During this period, Najib’s detention status should remain unchanged at his existing place of detention, subject to the powers and directions of the relevant authorities.
The AGC stressed that the temporary deferment was not intended to challenge or disregard the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree.
Instead, it said the measure was necessary to ensure that the royal decree and related court orders were implemented properly, systematically and in accordance with the law.
