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Malaysia’s High Court Orders Najib to Serve the Rest of His SRC Sentence Under House Arrest
By Maya Wilson
Malaysia’s High Court has ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest at his residence in Kuala Lumpur, effective immediately, overturning a lower-level registry decision that could have paved the way for his unconditional release.
High Court Judge Aslam Zainuddin issued the order on Tuesday, directing the 73-year-old to serve the remainder of his SRC sentence at his Jalan Langgak Duta home, Bernama, Malaysia’s national news agency, reported.
The judge set aside an order issued by the Criminal Registry on November 6 and replaced it with the house-arrest arrangement after reviewing the conditional pardon order and evidence that Najib had paid his outstanding fine in full.
Under the ruling, Najib will remain under house arrest until August 23, 2028. He is then required to return to Kajang Prison on August 24, 2028, to begin serving his sentence in the separate 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB, case.
The decision clarifies how the conditional pardon granted to Najib is to be implemented, while maintaining the distinction between his two major corruption convictions. The house-arrest order applies to the remainder of the SRC International sentence; it does not cancel the separate prison term imposed in the 1MDB case.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court that Najib had originally been sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million in the SRC case. The Pardons Board reduced the sentence in January 2024 to six years and lowered the fine to RM50 million, Bernama reported.
In September 2026, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Malaysia’s king, decreed a conditional pardon allowing Najib to serve the remainder of the sentence under house arrest once the RM50 million fine had been paid. The fine was paid in full on November 6, according to the prosecution’s account reported by Bernama.
The Criminal Registry’s order issued that day had raised the possibility of unconditional release. Tuesday’s High Court ruling replaced that decision with an order giving effect to the house-arrest condition attached to the royal pardon.
The ruling means Najib will leave the prison setting for his residence but will remain subject to the terms of his sentence. His return to Kajang Prison in August 2028 is required under the court’s order so that he can begin serving the separate sentence in the 1MDB case.
Najib has been held at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International, a former subsidiary of the state investment fund 1MDB.
The SRC case was among the legal proceedings arising from the wider scandal surrounding 1MDB, which became the subject of investigations in Malaysia and several other countries. The RM42 million at the centre of Najib’s SRC conviction was separate from the broader sums involved in the 1MDB case.
Najib appeared in court on Tuesday accompanied by his daughter, Nooryana Najwa. He left the court escorted by prison officers, Bernama reported.
The High Court’s order establishes the immediate arrangement for the remainder of his SRC sentence and sets out the date on which he must return to prison for the separate 1MDB term. The conditional pardon therefore changes where Najib serves the remaining SRC sentence, but does not remove the outstanding prison sentence in the other case.
The ruling also gives effect to the condition that the RM50 million fine be paid before house arrest could begin. With the payment confirmed as complete, the court substituted the registry’s November 6 decision with the house-arrest order.
Reporting based on Bernama dispatches.
— Maya Wilson, World Desk
Maya Wilson leads The Library Media’s World Desk and serves as the house’s intelligence lead.
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