Malaysian’s former PM Najib notified of house arrest rules; details to be released soon

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been notified of the standard operating procedures (SOP) governing his house arrest, said Legal Affairs Division director-general Zamri Misman.“Those details have been communicated to Najib,” he said, when asked by reporters in Parliament during a media briefing on the Parliamentary Services Act 2025 on Oct 7.Minister of Law and Institutional Reform Azalina Othman Said, who was also present at the media briefing, declined to comment on the matter.Malaysia’s Prisons Department is expected to release the SOPs on Najib’s house arrest soon.In a written reply dated Oct 6, the Home Ministry said the conditions for house arrest, including visits and movement monitoring, would be detailed through the relevant SOPs.Without naming Najib, the Home Ministry also said that placement at home under a conditional pardon was distinct from house arrest under a proposed law.“Therefore, a placement at home made following a conditional pardon decision cannot be directly equated with a house arrest order issued by the court under a specific Act,” it said.The Home Ministry also said drafting of the House Arrest Bill is still being finalised and vetted by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.The Ministry said the Cabinet had agreed in principle to a legal framework allowing eligible remand prisoners to be held at home while awaiting trial, as an alternative to prison.Najib, 73, has been serving his sentence at the Kajang Prison in Selangor since Aug 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million (S$13.1 million) belonging to SRC International, a former company under Malaysia’s state fund 1MDB.On Sept 18, the Malaysian King, Sultan Ibrahim, granted Najib a conditional pardon, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence for the SRC International case under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028.The arrangement is subject to payment of a RM50 million fine and compliance with stipulated conditions. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK