Malaysia's top court allows jailed ex-PM Najib to pursue legal bid for house arrest

Highlights:

• Najib allowed to continue judicial review on royal order for house arrest
• Case referred to High Court for further proceedings
• Growing calls by Najib's party to grant him house arrest

Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak won a major court battle on Wednesday that took him a step closer to being able to serve out a years-long jail term over the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal at home.

Najib, imprisoned since August 2022 in one of several cases related to 1MDB, has been seeking a judicial review to compel authorities to confirm the existence of and execute a royal order issued by former King Al-Sultan Abdullah entitling him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.

In a unanimous decision, the Federal Court, Malaysia's top tribunal, said on Wednesday it accepted that there was a royal document related to granting house arrest for Najib but it was not in a position to determine its authenticity.

Najib has said an addendum order accompanied a pardon by Al-Sultan Abdullah in January last year that halved his sentence from 12 years to six.

The case has stirred intrigue in Malaysia, with multiple government authorities, including members of the pardons board, denying knowledge of the document for months despite the former king's office saying an addendum had been issued.

The Federal Court's three-member panel said while it accepted the order's existence, it could not determine whether the document was truly issued as part of the pardon.

It referred the case to a lower tribunal, with the next hearing to be held on Aug. 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.

Najib's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client hoped for the case to proceed swiftly and called on the government to adhere to the addendum order.

"The minute the king signed the decree, you cannot question his decision," Muhammad Shafee said.

Malaysia's king plays a ceremonial role but the monarch can grant clemency to convicted persons under discretionary powers granted by the federal constitution.

Decisions made by the country's royals are rarely challenged. Negative remarks about the monarchy can be prosecuted under a colonial-era Sedition Act, which has been used against people who criticise the royals on social media.

ADDENDUM'S EXISTENCE UNDISPUTED

The decision is expected to boost calls by Najib's party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), for him to be granted house arrest.

UMNO campaigned against current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, but joined Anwar's coalition in government following a 2022 election that resulted in a hung parliament.

More than 100 people gathered outside the court complex on Wednesday to support Najib, who lost the 2018 election amid public anger over 1MDB.

Najib initiated his judicial review in April last year. The bid was initially dismissed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, but was overturned on appeal in January, after Najib's lawyers produced a letter from the former king's palace saying there was an addendum.

The attorney-general's office appealed the decision questioning the document's admissibility.

A lawyer acting on behalf of the attorney-general told the court in July he did not dispute the document's existence, but was challenging the way in which it was being submitted as evidence.

The Federal Court said the concession by the attorney-general that the order existed had a significant impact on its decision on Wednesday.

"As of now, the addendum order exists and its status vis-a-vis its validity or whether it is true needs to be ascertained at a substantive hearing," judge Zabariah said.

Najib was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from a unit of state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

About $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB in a globe-spanning scheme, with about $1 billion flowing into the personal accounts of Najib, Malaysian and US investigators have said.

Although some 1MDB-linked charges against him have been dropped, Najib is still awaiting a verdict in the biggest trial he faces over the scandal, with the court expected to hear closing arguments in October. He has denied all the charges against him.