A Malaysian court has cleared the way for jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to be transferred to house arrest after an earlier directive was disputed.
“In accordance with the order of conditional pardon, the accused shall serve the remainder of the reduced sentence of six years’ imprisonment under house arrest,” Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Aslam Zainuddin said on Tuesday.
Najib, 73, was jailed for his role in one of the largest thefts of public funds ever recorded from the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and was granted a conditional pardon in September.
On Friday, Najib’s political party paid the $12m fine as part of the terms of the royal pardon, and he was due to leave prison. However in a last-minute intervention, the attorney general postponed his transfer to house arrest after raising questions over the legal interpretation of the royal pardon and the court order allowing Najib to leave jail.
King Sultan Ibrahim has warned that any attempt to challenge his order to let Najib leave jail and move to house arrest could amount to defiance against his decree.
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.
Reporting from outside the court in Kuala Lumpur, Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride said: “This has caused all manner of political and constitutional controversy in Malaysia. The king made it plain he wasn’t happy with the interference of the attorney general over the weekend, and that it set a very difficult precedent.” He said it underlines the complicated, delicate relationship between the monarchy, the courts and the government.
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 under house arrest ends.
Najib has appealed the case, and his lawyers requested that the jail term and fines be halted, citing his poor health and inability to pay the fine.
