Saifuddin: Prisons Dept will comply with court order on Najib's house arrest

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated that the Prisons Department will comply with any court order regarding the house arrest of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. According to the New Straits Times, the ministry has consulted the Attorney-General’s Chambers to seek clarification on the interpretation of the conditional pardon granted by King Sultan Ibrahim.

The Bangkok Post reports that Najib’s transfer to house arrest, which was scheduled for Friday, was suspended after the attorney-general’s office raised questions concerning the legal interpretation of the royal pardon and a court order issued on Friday. Najib has been in jail since 2022 following convictions related to a scandal involving the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund, though he has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The Bangkok Post further noted that his party paid a 50-million-ringgit fine to fulfill a condition of the September royal pardon, which would allow him to serve his remaining two years at home.

Malaysia’s national palace issued a statement on Saturday asserting that the royal decision to allow Najib to serve his sentence under house arrest was clear and must be respected. The Winnipeg Free Press reports that the palace warned that any attempts to challenge the order could amount to defying the king.

Brief written by urgent.news from New Straits Times, Bangkok Post, Winnipeg Free Press — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.