Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak seeks to serve remaining sentence under house arrest

Malaysia’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak is seeking to serve the rest of his prison term under house arrest, two months after his sentence in a corruption case was reduced by half.

Malaysia's imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak is seeking to serve the rest of his prison term under house arrest, two months after his sentence in a corruption case was reduced by half.

His surprise application said he had “clear information” that then-king Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah issued an order during the January 29 pardon’s board meeting, which cut his 12-year jail sentence by half and sharply reduced a fine, allowing him to finish his sentence under house arrest.

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Najib asked the court to have the government verify and carry out the order. His application was due to be heard April 4 but was postponed to April 17.

Sultan Abdullah hails from Najib’s hometown of Pahang. He ended his five-year reign on January 30 under Malaysia’s unique rotating monarchy system. A new king took office on Jan. 31.

Najib, 70, has served less than two years of his sentence, supposed to end on Aug. 23, 2028, after his sentence was commuted. He was charged and found guilty in a corruption case linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of state fund 1MDB.

In his application, he accused the pardons board, home minister and the attorney-general among seven entities of concealing the sultan’s order “in bad faith.”