The government will follow-up on a royal order allowing former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, says deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Efforts to act on the matter according to legal procedures will be made as fast as possible, “but it depends heavily on the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which we must all respect,” he told Kangar Umno members at their delegates meeting today in Perlis.
He said he has discussed the matter in detail with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, according to a Harian Metro report.
Zahid said the legal process would also involve the pardons board, as the king presides over board meetings.
Najib is serving a 12-year jail sentence in Kajang prison after being convicted in 2022 of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd. He later applied for a pardon, with the Federal Territories Pardons Board reducing his prison sentence from 12 years to six, and a RM210 million fine to RM50 million.
The former prime minister later took the government to court for action to reveal the existence of a royal addendum to the pardons board decision, and to enforce the order allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.
The royal addendum is now the subject of an appeal by the government which is being heard by the Federal Court.
