Malaysia King Grants Najib Conditional Pardon for House Arrest

Malaysia's king granted former Prime Minister Najib Razak a conditional pardon on Friday, allowing him to serve the remainder of his graft sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028. The decision, announced by the Prime Minister's Legal Affairs Department, requires Najib to pay a 50 million ringgit fine as a condition of the pardon. The pardon was issued at a suddenly convened Pardons Board meeting, marking an unprecedented use of house arrest as royal clemency in Malaysia. Najib, 73, has been imprisoned since August 2022 after the country's top court upheld his conviction for corruption linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB. In January 2024, a previous Pardons Board halved Najib's original 12-year sentence and reduced his fine to 50 million ringgit. Najib had claimed that decision also allowed house arrest, but a High Court ruled the alleged order was not enforceable. The new pardon resolves that issue, though specific conditions beyond the fine were not detailed. Najib faces a separate conviction from December 2025, where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 11.