Former Prime Minister Najib has paid the fine but still cannot return home to serve his sentence. The controversy has affected the Malaysian political arena.

Although former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has paid a fine of RM50 million, his domestic sentence is still suspended due to disputes over legal interpretation. Head of state Sultan Ibrahim issued a statement stressing that the conditional amnesty order was clear and unambiguous. Any argument questioning this order risks violating the order of the head of state. How the subsequent legal disputes will be resolved and when Najib will be able to return home to serve his sentence will continue to impact the Malaysian political arena.

Najib Razak was granted a conditional pardon on September 18 this year, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home until August 23, 2028, after paying a fine of 50 million ringgit (about US$12.3 million) and complying with relevant conditions. On 6 November, after UMNO paid the fine, the High Court issued relevant orders, and Najib’s residence was also gazetted as a prison, but the home punishment system was suspended that night due to legal disputes, and he was still detained in Kajang Prison.

The change in Najib’s domestic sentence has begun to have political ramifications. Umno supporters demand immediate enforcement of the house punishment order and a thorough investigation of the Attorney-General’s Office’s authority to suspend executions. Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today that “the domestic punishment system has been implemented based on the final decision made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.” The Office of the Attorney-General has the responsibility to interpret the law and constitutional provisions, and there is no need to leave this to the courts.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on the 7th that the authority and decisions of the head of state have never been questioned, and directed the Attorney General to negotiate with the head of state as soon as possible to explain the remaining sentence in the SRC International case and the legal issues involved in another 1MDB case. The Prime Minister’s Office later confirmed that the Attorney General had requested a meeting with the head of state.

In view of this controversial incident, the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on the 6th that it mainly involves how to interpret the words “under the condition of paying a fine of RM50 million, the remaining sentence will be served at home until August 23, 2028” and the impact of this interpretation on the remaining sentence in the SRC International case.

The first interpretation is that the payment of the RM50 million fine is only the penalty portion of the fine. The jail sentence in the SRC International case will continue till August 23, 2028. Under this interpretation, home punishment is an alternative way or place to serve the remaining custodial sentence and is not a termination of the custodial sentence.

The second interpretation is that the payment of the RM50 million fine is a condition for the amnesty to come into full effect, which would make the legal effect of all penalties, including the jail sentence in the SRC International case, considered complete.

In addition, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said in a statement that the “Release Order on Payment of Fine” issued by the High Court on the 6th not only directed Najib’s immediate release, but also stipulated that he must serve the remainder of his sentence at home until August 23, 2028. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify its legal effect.

Attorney-General Chambers said in a statement that the legal status of the remaining prison sentence in the SRC International case also affects the execution of Najib’s prison sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case, especially as the court order states that 1MDB’s sentence should commence after the completion of the prison sentence in the SRC International case. On October 14, the High Court had rejected the application to stay the execution of the sentence in the 1MDB case.

However, the National Palace issued a statement on the 7th, saying that the power of pardon is a royal prerogative granted by Article 42 of the Federal Constitution. This conditional pardon order is clear, unambiguous, without any ambiguity and is not related to any other case in which he is involved. The exercise of this power must be respected in accordance with the status of a constitutional monarchy and the principles of the rule of law. Given that all conditions of the conditional amnesty decree have been met, any argument questioning this decree risks violating the decree of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers issued a separate statement the same day clarifying that it did not question the conditional pardon order or intend to suspend it. If the sentence in the SRC International Company case is still valid, there is no problem in serving the remaining sentence at home; However, if the sentence in the case is legally considered complete after the payment of the money, the court will have to determine the effect on the commencement of the sentence in the 1MDB case.

Najib, 73, was convicted of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering in July 2020 for transferring RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, to his personal account. He will be sent to jail in August 2022 to serve his sentence.

He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million. In February 2024, he was pardoned and his sentence was reduced to six years and the fine was reduced to RM50 million.

Additionally, Najib was convicted in December 2025 in a major corruption case involving 1MDB and sentenced to 15 years in prison. She is currently attractive. The court ordered that the sentence should commence after the completion of the sentence in the SRC International case and not be served at the same time in both the cases.