Malaysia's palace says Najib pardon is clear; prosecutors seek court ruling

Malaysia's royal palace said on Saturday, 7 November, that the conditional pardon allowing former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his SRC International prison sentence under house arrest was clear and must be respected. The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) said it was seeking an urgent court ruling on how that pardon interacts with a discharge order and Najib's separate 1MDB sentence.

The competing public explanations followed payment of a RM50 million fine on 6 November and a Kuala Lumpur High Court order referring to Najib's release and the remainder of his SRC sentence being served at home until 23 August 2028. His planned transfer to house arrest was deferred, and he returned to Kajang Prison on Friday, according to local reporting. This article does not establish a subsequent change in his detention location.

In a 7 November statement reported by Malay Mail, Istana Negara said all conditions attached to the 18 September conditional pardon had been fulfilled. The palace maintained that the pardon was unambiguous and unrelated to other cases. It warned against attempts to challenge the royal decree, invoking the King's constitutional pardon power under Article 42.

The AGC denied that it was challenging, suspending or defying the pardon. In a separate statement reported by Malaysia's public broadcaster RTM and Malay Mail, it said the issue requiring judicial interpretation was whether the High Court's discharge order after payment of the fine meant the SRC prison term remained in force or had ended. If that term continues, prosecutors said, its remainder must be served under the conditional pardon. If it has ended, a court must clarify the start of Najib's separate 15-year 1MDB sentence, which was ordered to follow the SRC term.

The AGC said its application was meant to avoid inconsistent enforcement of court orders, not to override the King's pardon. Najib's lawyers have criticized the postponement, while the palace said the conditions for house arrest had been met. The AGC's account is a legal position, not a judicial finding that the pardon is invalid or that Najib must remain in prison.

Najib's SRC conviction was upheld in 2022, and an earlier pardon reduced his sentence and fine. His separate 1MDB conviction and 15-year sentence, imposed in December 2025, are under appeal. The latest dispute concerns implementation and sequencing of sentences, not a new verdict on either case.

The decisive next record is a court ruling on the discharge order and the relationship between the two sentences. Neither a new ruling resolving that question nor a final house-arrest transfer was established by the sources examined for this report.