House arrest delay will disrespect royal order, says Asyraf
The Umno secretary-general questions the need for a delay as the fine had been paid, and says everyone should respect the king’s constitutional powers.
Umno leader Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has cautioned that delaying the commencement of Najib Razak’s house arrest would be an affront to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree. The Umno secretary-general questioned the necessity of postponing the house arrest, pointing out that the RM50 million fine Najib had settled had cleared the way for the conditional pardon.
He urged all parties to respect the king’s authority, as outlined in the Federal Constitution. Asyraf highlighted that the decision was made through the Federal Territories Pardons Board and that the conditions set by the king had been met. Upon learning of the Attorney-General’s Chambers request to keep Najib in prison while the house arrest was deferred pending a review of the pardon and the Order of Discharge, he asked, “Why delay the house arrest now that the fine has been settled?”
The matter was prompted by complex legal questions that could impact the pardon and court order’s implementation. The High Court in Kuala Lumpur had previously discharged Najib after Umno paid the RM50 million fine imposed on him; the order called for his immediate release and a continued house arrest sentence until Aug 23, 2028.
Najib received a 12-year jail term in August 2022 for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering involving RM42 million from SRC International. In January 2024, a royal pardon cut his sentence in half, and a subsequent conditional pardon in September 2023 allowed him to serve the remainder of his term under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
