Malaysian Court Rejects Najib's House Arrest Bid

A Malaysian court on Monday rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak's application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, ruling that a supplementary royal order he cited was invalid due to procedural flaws. The decision, delivered by High Court Judge Alice Loke in Kuala Lumpur, means the 72-year-old Najib will continue his incarceration at Kajang Prison, where his reduced six-year term is set to end in August 2028.

Najib had sought a judicial review to enforce what he described as an addendum to a pardon issued last year by then-King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah. The former monarch chaired a Pardons Board meeting in February 2024 that halved Najib's original 12-year sentence and lowered a fine from 210 million ringgit (about $47 million) to 50 million ringgit (about $11 million). Najib claimed the addendum, issued during that process, allowed him to complete the sentence at home. Government officials initially denied knowledge of the document, but confirmations later came from the former king's office and a federal lawyer.

Judge Loke acknowledged the addendum's existence but ruled it unenforceable. She stated that the order was not discussed or...