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

Al JazeeraEN 2 min read 100% complete by By News AgenciesDecember 22, 2025 at 03:47 AM

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In December 2025, a Malaysian High Court rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak's bid to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. Najib, imprisoned since August 2022 for his role in the 1MDB scandal, sought to compel authorities to execute a royal order, purportedly issued as part of a pardon, allowing him to serve his sentence at home. However, the court ruled that while the royal order existed, it was not valid because the former king should have consulted the country's pardons board before issuing it. The judge stated that the king could not grant house arrest independently and that no legal provision exists for such a mechanism in Malaysia. Najib's lawyer described the ruling as "shocking" and announced that he will appeal the verdict.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Charles Santiago 30% Muhammad Shafee Abdullah 40% Low Taek Jho 40% Alice Loke 50% Kuala Lumpur High Court 60% 1MDB ×370% Malaysia ×380% Najib Razak ×790%

Keywords

najib razak 100% house arrest 90% corruption 70% malaysian court 70% 1mdb scandal 60% royal pardon 60% pardons board 50% kuala lumpur high court 50% malaysia 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Malaysia

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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najib razak house arrest corruption malaysian court 1mdb scandal royal pardon pardons board kuala lumpur high court malaysia

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