FORMER Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak may serve the remainder of his prison sentence under home confinement immediately if the High Court grants his judicial review application regarding a royal decree on December 22, his legal team said on Wednesday.
Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex that the judicial review concerns his client’s personal liberty.
“I wish to emphasise that if the decision goes in our favour, he must serve the remainder of his prison sentence under home detention immediately,” he said.
Shafee acknowledged that preparations at Najib’s residence would be necessary but insisted, “I believe he must be allowed to return home without further delay.”
Asked about the possibility of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) filing an appeal should the court rule in Najib’s favour, Shafee said it would not affect the immediate implementation of the ruling.
The High Court, originally set to deliver its decision on January 5, advanced the date to December 22 following a request from Najib through his law firm, Shafee & Co, for the ruling to be made earlier, subject to judicial discretion.
In the judicial review, Najib seeks an order that, if the royal decree exists, all or any of the respondents must implement it by transferring him from Kajang Prison to his residence in Kuala Lumpur to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.
Najib has named the Home Minister, the Prisons Commissioner General, the Attorney General, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal and Institutional Reforms), the Director General of the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department, and the Government of Malaysia as respondents.
Among the reliefs sought is a copy of the principal decree from the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong concerning the reduction of Najib’s prison term and fine.
Najib has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, after being convicted of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd. He filed a royal pardon petition on September 2, 2022, leading the Pardons Board to reduce his prison term from 12 to six years and cut his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
On July 3 last year, the High Court had dismissed Najib’s initial application to commence judicial review proceedings, a decision he subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The High Court also previously ruled that four affidavits supporting Najib’s claims, including statements from UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Vice President Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, amounted to hearsay and could not be admitted as evidence. - December 18, 2025
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