KUALA LUMPUR: Jailed former Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak’s fresh bid for a pardon has been put on hold.
His application will be deferred to a future Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting, said the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement after the board met on Friday morning (Sep 11).
“His Majesty (Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar) consented for the application for a pardon by (Najib) to be deferred to a future meeting of the Pardons Board,” the statement said.
At Friday’s meeting, the king consented to the release of 65 prisoners. Those who are non-citizens shall be repatriated to their countries of origin within six months of their release, the statement added.
Sultan Ibrahim presides over the board, which also comprises the Attorney-General, Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh and three other members.
Local media had reported earlier this week about Najib’s application for clemency being expected to be heard for Friday’s meeting, with some reports saying that a consideration for house arrest was on the cards.
Currently in Kajang Prison, Najib was scheduled to complete his term only on Aug 23, 2028 after securing a partial royal pardon in January 2024 that halved his jail term and reduced his fine to RM50 million (US$12.3 million).
Najib was initially sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million in July 2020 on three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power.
The charges involved the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), into his personal bank accounts in 2014 and 2015.
Najib, 73, began serving his jail term in August 2022.
Even after the partial royal pardon, Najib had insisted that the then-King, Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, had issued an addendum order for him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
The High Court last year ruled that the addendum order was not enforceable because it had not been deliberated in the January 2024 Pardons Board meeting. The meeting was held one day before Sultan Abdullah ended his reign as Malaysia’s monarch.
Najib then filed an appeal, but withdrew it in April this year. No reason was given in court documents seen by Malaysian news outlets.
Najib, who was Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018, still commands significant support within the Barisan Nasional coalition, which is part of Malaysia’s unity government along with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and some Borneo-based parties.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said last year his client may return to politics if he is pardoned and allowed out of prison.
His party, the BN lynchpin United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), is holding its general assembly from Sep 9 to 12 and UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed disappointment at the deferment.
Zahid said UMNO respected the decision but continues to hope for a favourable outcome. “We are saddened by the decision. Nevertheless, we continue to express our deepest respect to His Majesty the King, and we appeal to His Majesty to use all his wisdom to make the best decision,” he said on Friday, as reported by Malay Mail.
The issue surrounding Najib’s clemency bid appeared to be a source of tension between UMNO and its unity government partner Pakatan Harapan (PH) on Wednesday.
Without mentioning any cases or Najib, PH had stressed that those who have been convicted of corruption or abuse of power should serve the full sentences imposed by the courts.
The coalition stressed that any decision involving high-profile cases must take into account public confidence in Malaysia’s commitment to its reform and anti-corruption agenda.
But UMNO said PH’s statement appeared to question Sultan Ibrahim’s power to pardon prisoners as “enshrined in Article 42(1) of the Federal Constitution”.
“Unlike PH, UMNO does not intend to pre-empt the consideration of the Pardons Board or demand any particular decision. Whatever decision is made through the legitimate process should be respected by all parties,” said UMNO secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Najib faces another lengthy jail term in a separate 1MDB-related case.
The High Court in December 2025 sentenced him to 15 years in prison and fined him RM11.38 billion on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.2 billion misappropriated from 1MDB.
The jail term was due to begin in 2028 after he finishes his current sentence. He has filed an appeal against the verdict and sentence, Reuters reported on Dec 30 last year.
