King should decide if Najib may serve the remainder of his sentence under home arrest, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the King should decide if Anwar’s incarcerated predecessor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, may spend his remaining sentence under house arrest.

“Whether Najib should be given house arrest, our position is — you go through the process and let the King decide,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg at the Qatar Economic Forum 2024.

The Malaysian Constitution allows the King to make the decision, and “as the prime minister, I should not precede the King,” he stated when asked about his personal position on the issue.

Anwar also maintained that Najib, like any other Malaysian citizen, has the right to seek a pardon from the King.

As with any other Malaysian citizen who appeals to the King, “I have advised the King that he must consider this as a process,” he emphasized.

Anwar went on, “I am the authority of the subject, and I give all possible facilities, so that he is being treated fairly, or at least comfortably, because prison is not a bed of roses.”

Anwar was imprisoned twice and given a five-year prison sentence for sodomy in 2015; however, he was released early after receiving a complete royal pardon in 2018.

After being found guilty of seven graft charges involving RM42 million in cash from SRC International Sdn Bhd, Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison in August of 2022.

But in February 2024, the Federal Territories Pardons Board cut his sentence in half, to six years, and lowered his punishment from RM210 million to RM50 million.

In an attempt to obtain a mandamus to compel the authorities to produce an addendum order allegedly issued by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, Najib filed his application for a judicial review in April. This would allow him to serve the remaining portion of his reduced jail sentence under house arrest.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that he has seen the alleged addendum order, dated April 9, which calls for Najib’s jail sentence to be reduced to house arrest.

The High Court set June 5 as the date for deciding whether to approve Najib’s request for leave.