Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia who has been convicted of corruption, will soon be transferred from prison to house arrest. This decision was made after his party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), paid a fine of 50 million ringgit (equivalent to 12.3 million dollars).
Details of the Transfer to House Arrest
The UMNO party has managed to pay this fine by raising funds from its supporters. According to Asrul Af Waheed Dausuki, the party's secretary-general, this action was taken to secure the necessary financing for Najib's transfer to house arrest. Although the exact timing of his transfer to house arrest is not yet clear, AFP has reported that he was seen leaving prison on Friday.
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Legal Ambiguities and Najib's Current Status
However, a statement from the Attorney General's Office of Malaysia has raised ambiguities regarding Najib's transfer. The statement indicated that his transfer has been temporarily suspended and that some legal questions regarding the conditions of his royal pardon need clarification. According to this statement, Najib's current detention status will be maintained.
Najib, 73, has been sentenced to six years in prison due to his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal that occurred during his premiership from 2009 to 2018. He was initially sentenced in 2020 to 12 years in prison for abuse of power, breach of trust, and money laundering, and has been serving this sentence since 2022.
Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, issued a rare pardon for Najib in September of this year, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. This pardon was conditional on the payment of the 50 million ringgit fine. After raising funds from his supporters, Najib's party has paid this fine.
It is important to note that the house arrest only pertains to his six-year sentence in the initial case and does not include his separate 15-year sentence set for December 2025. In this second case, he has been convicted of corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB scandal.
Najib is currently appealing this conviction, which carries a penalty of 11.4 billion ringgit. If he is unsuccessful in his appeal, he may return to prison after August 23, 2028.
The 1MDB scandal sparked national outrage in Malaysia and led to the electoral defeat of the UMNO party in 2018, which had governed the country since Malaysia's independence in 1957. However, Najib still enjoys political support and has influence within the party, which is part of the new government that came to power in 2022.
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