Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been granted a conditional royal pardon, enabling him to serve the remainder of his six-year prison sentence under house arrest. The decision was announced on Friday by the legal department of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
King Sultan Ibrahim approved the clemency, permitting Najib, 73, to complete his term from the current date until August 23, 2028. The conditional pardon requires the former leader to pay a fine of 50 million Malaysian ringgit, equivalent to approximately $12.3 million or €10.7 million.
Najib is currently incarcerated for his role in the 1MDB scandal, involving the state investment fund he co-founded during his tenure from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he received a 12-year sentence for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering concerning $10.3 million diverted into his accounts. He began serving that sentence in 2022.
Furthermore, in December 2025, Najib was convicted in a separate case involving the misappropriation of nearly $569 million from 1MDB. He was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison and fined $2.8 billion, with the new term set to commence after his current sentence concludes. He is currently appealing that conviction.
This marks the second time Najib has received royal clemency. In 2024, the previous monarch reduced his original 12-year sentence to six years and lowered associated fines. Investigators allege that at least $4.5 billion in state funds were stolen and laundered by Najib and his associates during the 1MDB affair.
Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that he is a scapegoat. The corruption scandal triggered significant public outrage in Malaysia and contributed to the electoral defeat of his party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), ending its rule since independence in 1957.
Legal experts note that it remains unclear whether this clemency applies to his second conviction or when he will be formally released into house arrest. His legal team has not yet commented on the development. The pardon has raised concerns regarding equal treatment under the law, given Najib’s continued political influence in the country.
Does anyone actually know if this pardon covers his second conviction too? The details are still murky.
I was genuinely surprised by this conditional pardon. It feels like justice is being delayed, not denied.
Another fine and house arrest? This surely undermines faith in Malaysia’s judicial system.