Malaysia furor over Najib house arrest
A conditional royal pardon letting former Prime Minister Najib Razak serve the rest of his jail sentence under house arrest has ignited a new row surrounding the $4.5-billion 1MDB scandal.
Critics say Najib should remain behind bars, while supporters have rallied around the former leader and launched a campaign to help him pay a fine tied to his transfer to house arrest.
Najib, 73, was jailed in 2022 for his role in one of the largest-ever global plunders of a sovereign wealth fund, the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
On Friday, King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib’s request to complete the remainder of his six-year sentence under house arrest—provided he pays a 50-million-ringgit ($12 million) fine.
Najib is also appealing a separate 15-year prison term in another 1MDB-related case.
Prosecutors say about $4.5 billion was siphoned from the state fund in the 2010s, triggering investigations from Malaysia to the United States.
‘Mockery of the law’
The scandal helped bring down the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), ending the party’s six-decade grip on power in 2018.
Yet Najib remains a popular figure among his base and Umno’s grassroots supporters.
“How can a convicted felon with more cases awaiting trial be allowed house arrest?” said James Chow, a 49-year-old entrepreneur.
“It’s a waste of time and money and a mockery of the law,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Shyam Priah, 52, chief executive of a nonprofit organization, said she respected the king’s “constitutional prerogative to grant a pardon.”
But she questioned efforts to raise money for Najib’s fine.
“Seeing ordinary Malaysians being mobilized to contribute 10 ringgit towards a 50-million ringgit fine for a former prime minister raises a bigger question for me about our priorities as a society,” she told AFP.
“Ten ringgit can mean a meal for someone who is struggling,” she said.
But Najib’s supporters welcomed the king’s decision.
“The supporters who love Najib have been looking forward to the moment he would be granted house arrest,” Radiaa Rashid, 68, told AFP.
“We miss Najib Razak. Even though he can’t be released, at least he’ll be at home with his family, with his grandchildren and children,” said supporter Suzzalina Anura, 43.
Local media reported donations topped 1 million ringgit by Monday after the campaign was launched, although some critics responded by contributing as little as 1 sen (0.01 ringgit) in protest.
