All eyes on outcome of Pardons Board meeting, media gather at Najib’s house

ALL eyes are on the outcome of the Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting, which ended at about 9.30 am today.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh and Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar were seen leaving Istana Negara at about 9.43 am.

The board is chaired by His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia. As of now, no official statement has been released on the outcome of the session.

The meeting comes amid reports that the board would reconvene today with a single item on the agenda regarding former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's application for a pardon.

The application was deferred at the 63rd Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting on Sept 11, with consideration postponed to a subsequent meeting.

Media practitioners have meanwhile begun gathering outside Najib's residence at Langgak Duta, following rumours that he has been granted house arrest.

Both local and international media personnel began arriving in the vicinity of the residence as early as 10 am to seek the latest updates on the matter.

However, there has been no movement in or out of the residence so far.

Since yesterday, a fake letter purportedly bearing Yeoh’s signature has gone viral, claiming Najib had been granted house arrest.

She said her press secretary had lodged a report with the authorities over the circulation of the document.

A brief “Alhamdulillah” post by UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki on Facebook this morning fuelled greater speculation, with many wondering whether it was linked to the Pardons Board meeting.

Najib began serving a 12-year jail sentence in August 2022 after being convicted of graft linked to a subsidiary of 1MDB.

The Pardons Board halved his sentence in 2024 and reduced his fine to RM50 million from RM210 million.

In December 2025, he was convicted of abuse of power and money laundering involving more than RM2 billion linked to 1MDB and was sentenced to 15 years' jail and fined RM11.38 billion.

The former prime minister is appealing this conviction. – September 18, 2026