Should Malaysia’s Najib be under house arrest? Jailed ex-PM persists with pursuit of early release

On Wednesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court set a date of June 5 to make a decision on whether Najib can proceed with an application to be freed on house arrest, his lawyers said.

Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, head of Najib’s legal team, argued on Wednesday that Malaysia’s previous king had issued a supplementary decree through official channels ordering that Najib be released from prison and placed under house arrest, but the order was not enforced.

“Not only did they not enforce [the order], they concealed it … you cannot dispute the king’s order,” Shafee told reporters outside the court after a closed-door hearing before a judge.

Najib argued in that application that the supplementary decree had been issued on the same day that the pardons board announced his reprieve.

The decision to slash his sentence was made by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia’s then-king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, in one of his final acts as the country’s monarch – raising questions over the impunity Malaysia’s rich and powerful seemingly enjoy, as well as the influence politicians can still wield from behind bars.

The reduction of Najib’s sentence is emblematic of a justice system that prioritises the welfare of Malaysia’s elite while those without the means to pester for their release are left to languish in prison, critics say.

“The country cannot give a message that politicians who commit offences and are found guilty … can take ‘short cuts’ to escape punishment, as though there are two sets of laws for the laymen and the elite,” electoral reform group Bersih said in a statement at the time.

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Najib was convicted in 2020 of seven counts of corruption and abuse of power