KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak scored a significant legal victory on Wednesday (Aug 13), moving a step closer to potentially serving his prison sentence at home.
Najib, who has been jailed since August 2022 over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, is seeking a judicial review to compel authorities to verify and implement what he says is a royal addendum issued by former King Al-Sultan Abdullah. According to Najib, the order — issued alongside a partial pardon in January last year that reduced his sentence from 12 years to six — entitles him to serve the remainder of his term under house arrest.
In a unanimous ruling, the Federal Court accepted that such a document exists but said it could not rule on its authenticity. Multiple government agencies, including members of the pardons board, have denied knowledge of the order despite the former king’s office stating that it was issued.
The court rejected a request from Najib’s lawyers to present further arguments, instead sending the case back to the High Court for a full hearing before a different judge.
“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.
Najib was convicted in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for receiving funds from a 1MDB subsidiary. While some charges have been dropped, he still faces his largest trial linked to the scandal, with closing arguments expected in October. He maintains his innocence.
Najib filed his judicial review in April 2024. Although initially dismissed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, the Court of Appeal revived the case in January after his legal team produced a letter from the former king’s palace confirming the addendum. The Attorney-General’s Chambers then appealed, questioning the admissibility of the document.
Last month, the attorney-general’s representative told the court he did not dispute the document’s existence but challenged how it was presented as evidence. The Federal Court said this admission weighed heavily in its decision.
“As of now, the addendum order exists, and its validity needs to be determined at a substantive hearing,” Judge Zabariah said.
The High Court is set to hear the case on August 18.
Outside the court, more than 100 supporters rallied behind Najib, whose coalition partner UMNO joined Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government after a hung parliament in the 2022 election. Najib’s downfall in 2018 was driven by widespread public anger over the 1MDB scandal.
