Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday (10 November) ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest at his residence until 23 August 2028. Democratic Action Party secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook immediately honoured his pledge and formally resigned as Minister for Transport.
According to Sin Chew Daily, the Attorney General’s Chambers formally filed an application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday (10 November), seeking a review of the release order issued for Najib last Friday (6 November). It also asked the court to issue a new release order in line with the pardon granted by Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim on 18 September.
After hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence, High Court Judge Aslam revoked last Friday’s order allowing Najib to be released after paying his fine in full, replacing it with a new house arrest order. He said the new order was consistent with the conditional pardon granted by the King on 18 September.
Aslam said Najib must serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest at his home in Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, in Kuala Lumpur.
Najib left the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex at about 5pm on Tuesday and returned home to begin serving his sentence under house arrest.
Following the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling, Loke, secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party, a member of Pakatan Harapan, announced in a statement that he was resigning as Minister for Transport with immediate effect. “This decision is based on the principles and position I previously set out.”
Loke thanked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for his trust since December 2022 and pledged to ensure a smooth handover.
Najib has been serving his sentence in Kajang Prison since 23 August 2022, following his conviction over the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International, a subsidiary of 1MDB. He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million, but the Pardons Board reduced his prison term to six years in 2024 and cut his fine to RM50 million.
On 18 September this year, King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest until 23 August 2028. The pardon was conditional on Najib first paying his RM50 million (about S$15.8 million) fine in full.
Loke submitted his resignation on 19 September to express the Democratic Action Party’s opposition to Najib’s pardon. He repeatedly stated that his resignation would take effect on the day Najib began serving his sentence under house arrest.
After UMNO paid the RM50 million fine in full last Friday, Najib had been expected to leave prison that day to begin serving his sentence under house arrest. However, the Attorney General’s Chambers said the court order was disputed and announced that the house arrest arrangements would be put on hold.
Asked about the source of the funds UMNO used to pay Najib’s fine, party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters on Tuesday that the money came from a crowdfunding drive launched by UMNO headquarters, which stopped collecting donations once the target was reached. He said UMNO was willing to disclose the relevant information to show that the process was lawful and complied with regulations.
