FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot afford the RM50 million payment required under the conditions of his pardon, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said today.
Shafee said Najib was in a dilemma because he was required to make the payment but did not have the money to do so.
“He is in a dilemma because he is supposed to pay, but he has no money,” Shafee told reporters after court proceedings at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex.
He said Najib’s bank accounts had been frozen, including an Affin Bank account which he said was used to receive his salary as prime minister and Member of Parliament.
Asked about the amount of contributions raised so far, Shafee said he did not know as the matter was outside his scope.
He also said Najib had not sought public donations to meet the RM50 million payment.
The payment is among the conditions attached to Najib’s reduced sentence under the Pardons Board’s decision in the SRC International case, which also reduced his prison term from 12 years to six and the fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Meanwhile, Najib has yet to receive the official letter confirming the conditions of his conditional pardon and allowing him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said today.
Shafee described the delay as unusual, saying neither Najib’s defence team nor the Prisons Department had received the official document detailing the conditions attached to the pardon.
“Until today, it is already the eighth day. It is something strange because Datuk Seri Najib has still not received the official letter regarding the conditional pardon that allows him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest.
“As soon as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong makes a decision under the royal prerogative, the most important person is Najib because he is the one serving the prison sentence and who will be placed under house arrest.
“However, until today, Najib has still not received the letter. We do not know why the letter is taking so long,” he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.
Shafee said the delay had also affected the defence team’s next steps because it had yet to receive details of the conditions imposed under the conditional pardon.
He said the letter was important for the defence to understand the scope of the pardon and determine what further action needed to be taken.
The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department announced on Sept 18 that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had granted Najib a conditional pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine and compliance with the stipulated conditions.
The Prisons Department said on Sept 20 that it was still awaiting official written notification of the decision before taking steps to implement the house-arrest arrangement.
Najib remains at Kajang Prison pending fulfilment of the conditions and the administrative process for his transfer to house arrest. - September 25, 2026
