Malaysian king warns against defying house arrest order for ex-PM Najib

Malaysia’s king has warned that any attempt to challenge his order granting jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak house arrest could amount to defying his decree, a day after authorities delayed Najib’s transfer.

The 73-year-old Najib was jailed for his role in one of the largest-ever global plunders of a sovereign wealth fund, the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

But King Sultan Ibrahim granted him a conditional pardon in September, allowing him to serve out the rest of his sentence at home provided he paid a $12m fine.

On Friday, the country’s attorney general blocked the former prime minister’s transfer to house arrest after the fine was paid, saying his office needed more clarification on the pardon.

The king said on Saturday there was nothing to clarify, calling the pardon “clear, evident and without any ambiguity”.

“There should be no confusion in interpretation,” King Ibrahim said in a statement, adding it was not tied to any other cases against the former leader.

“Given that all conditions in the conditional pardon order have been fulfilled, any argument questioning the order leads towards denying the order of His Majesty the King.”

Najib’s lawyers thanked the monarch on Saturday, saying there was “no basis” for authorities to keep Najib in prison “a moment longer”.

“They must transfer him immediately to his residence at Jalan Langgak Duta to serve his house arrest, as His Majesty has ordered,” lawyer Farhan Shafee said in a statement.

The Attorney General’s Office issued its own statement shortly afterwards, denying it was challenging the king’s authority while giving no indication if it intended to immediately release Najib.

“This step is not aimed at delaying or denying the implementation of the Conditional Pardon Order, but to avoid any conflict in the implementation of the orders in force and to ensure no sentence is implemented unlawfully,” it said.

Hours later, the prime minister’s office said the attorney general was seeking an audience with the king to “seek pardon” and express an intent to comply, while insisting that legal questions remained that only a court could decide.

The house arrest order applies only to Najib’s first conviction.

He faces an additional 15 years in prison after being found guilty last year in another 1MDB-linked case, with the sentence set to begin after his stint in house arrest ends. Najib is appealing the verdict.

The king, a position held in rotation by Malaysia’s nine regional sultans, plays a largely ceremonial role but has the authority to grant pardons under discretionary powers granted by Malaysia’s constitution.

Malaysians hold the monarch and the country’s other sultans in deep respect. Negative remarks about the royalty can be prosecuted under the colonial-era Sedition Act.