Malaysian court rejects Najib’s bid to serve sentence under house arrest

High Court says a royal document allowing the ex-PM’s transfer to house arrest was not valid.Published On 22 Dec 2025A court in Malaysia has ‍dismissed jailed ‍former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bid to serve the remainder of his sentence for corruption at home, ruling that a royal document allowing the ⁠move was not valid.The ruling on Monday dealt another blow to Najib, who has been imprisoned since August 2022 for his role in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Sentence for ex-Goldman banker in 1MDB case ‘too short’: Malaysian ministerlist 2 of 4Politics & Diplomacy: Exclusive Interview with Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahimlist 3 of 4Malaysia court grants jailed ex-PM Najib access to house arrest decreelist 4 of 4Malaysia’s scandal-hit 1MDB sues Amicorp, seeks $1bn for alleged fraudend of listNajib had sought to compel Malaysian authorities to ‍confirm the ⁠existence of and execute a royal order that he said was issued last year as part of a pardon by the then-king, entitling him to serve the remainder of his sentence at ​home.Kuala Lumpur High Court ‌judge Alice Loke said on Monday that the existence of the order was not in dispute, but the former king should ‌have consulted the country’s pardons board before making the order ‌to allow Najib house arrest.“The court ruled that the king could not grant house arrest independently of the pardons board,” she wrote. “I’m of the view that a house arrest order is not capable of execution, no legal provision for such a mechanism in Malaysia.”Najib did not show much emotion, and later smiled when his lawyer described the ruling as “shocking” after the judge left the courtroom.The lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told The Star newspaper that the former leader will appeal the verdict.Najib denies wrongdoing, alleging that Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho duped him. Low, thought to be the mastermind of the scandal, remains at large.Former Malaysian parliament member Charles Santiago, who had pushed for the prosecution of Najib, hailed Monday’s ruling in a social media post.