Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak won a key legal victory on Wednesday after the Federal Court cleared the way for him to pursue a judicial review that could see him serve the remainder of his 1MDB-linked prison sentence under house arrest.
In a unanimous ruling, the country’s highest tribunal accepted that a royal addendum order, allegedly issued by former King Al-Sultan Abdullah alongside a January 2023 pardon halving Najib’s sentence from 12 to six years, does exist.
However, the court said it could not determine the order’s authenticity and referred the matter to the High Court for a full hearing on August 18.
“We remit the case to the High Court for the hearing of the substantive judicial review proceedings before a new judge,” said Federal Court judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof. The panel noted that the attorney-general’s office had conceded the order’s existence, a point it said had significant impact on Wednesday’s decision.
Najib, jailed since August 2022 over criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for receiving misappropriated funds from a 1MDB unit, argues the addendum grants him the right to serve his term at home. His lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, urged the government to comply, saying, “The minute the king signed the decree, you cannot question his decision.”
The case has gripped Malaysia, with various government bodies, including the pardons board, denying knowledge of the order for months, even after the former king’s palace confirmed it was issued.
The controversy has fueled calls from Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), now part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s governing coalition, for his release from prison confinement.
More than 100 supporters gathered outside the court to cheer Najib, who lost power in 2018 amid public fury over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Investigators in Malaysia and the U.S. say $4.5 billion was stolen from the state fund, with about $1 billion ending up in Najib’s personal accounts.
While some charges against him have been dropped, Najib still faces his biggest 1MDB trial, with closing arguments set for October. He denies all wrongdoing.
Written By Rodney Mbua
