PUTRAJAYA: Former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, has been granted a conditional pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50-million fine.
The conditional pardon was granted by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, today, September 18.
Najib, 73, will be required to comply with conditions imposed under the pardon.
Should he breach any of the conditions, the conditional pardon will be revoked and he will be required to immediately serve the remainder of the sentence in prison.
The decision came a week after Najib’s application was deferred at the board’s September 11 meeting. At that sitting, the King consented to the release of 65 other prisoners while Najib’s application was pushed to a future meeting.
Earlier today, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan, and Attorney-General, Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, were among those seen at Istana Negara for the board meeting.
Yeoh, who arrived at about 7:48 am, was seen leaving at around 9:40 am without speaking to reporters waiting outside the palace, followed by Dusuki at 9.43 am.
No official outcome had been announced at the time of her departure.
Najib has been serving his prison sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, after his conviction involving RM42 million in SRC International funds.
He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million before a previous Pardons Board decision in 2024 reduced the jail term to six years and the fine to RM50 million, setting August 23, 2028, as the end of the reduced sentence.
The latest decision means the remainder of that sentence may now be served under house arrest, provided Najib complies with the conditions attached to the pardon.
The case that he has been convicted of involves the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, while the one still undergoing proceedings is the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case, which is currently at the appeal stage in the Court of Appeal.
The Federal Territories Pardons Board is chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and comprises the Attorney General, the minister responsible for the Federal Territories, and three other members appointed by His Majesty.
Media personnel have been gathering at Istana Negara since early this morning to follow developments surrounding today’s Pardons Board meeting.
In July 2020, the High Court sentenced Najib to 12 years in prison and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty of seven charges involving the misappropriation of RM42 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
The conviction and sentence were subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal in December 2021 and the Federal Court in August 2022.
However, at its 61st Meeting on January 29, 2024, the Pardons Board decided to reduce the former Pekan Member of Parliament’s prison sentence from 12 years to six years and the fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Meanwhile, on December 26 last year, the High Court sentenced Najib to 15 years in prison and imposed a total fine of RM11.4 billion after finding him guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.3 billion in funds linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
He filed an appeal against the decision on December 29, 2025.
In a separate civil suit, the High Court on March 31 this year ordered Najib to pay USD1.3 billion to SRC International after finding him liable for breach of fiduciary duties, abuse of position and misappropriation of company funds for personal benefit.
The execution of the judgment has since been stayed pending the outcome of his appeal.
Najib also faces two other civil suits, one filed by SRC International and Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd in 2021, as well as a USD5.64 billion suit filed by 1MDB and four of its subsidiaries. The cases remain pending before the courts. – BERNAMA
