Malaysia's High Court on Tuesday, November 10, cleared the way for former prime minister Najib Razak to start his house arrest, state news agency Bernama reported, and a Reuters journalist later saw the 73-year-old arrive at his home in Kuala Lumpur — ending a prison stint of more than four years over his role in the multibillion-dollar 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The ruling resolves, for now, a four-day standoff that began when the attorney general's chambers froze the transfer last Friday.

Source: Reuters via SRN News

High Court Judge Aslam Zainuddin set aside in its entirety the Order of Discharge on Payment of Fine dated November 6 and replaced it with a new order: Najib will serve the remainder of his reduced six-year sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest at his residence in Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur, until August 23, 2028, in line with the conditional royal pardon. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed the court had replaced last week's order so that the house arrest could start immediately.

Source: Scoop — Najib's house arrest begins immediately after High Court ruling

How the move home stalled for four days

King Sultan Ibrahim, acting on the Pardons Board's decision of September 18, granted Najib a conditional pardon: he could serve the rest of the SRC sentence at home once he paid a RM50 million fine — yaani about US$12.3 million. His party UMNO paid the fine on Friday, November 6, and Najib left Kajang Prison that day, but the attorney general's chambers then suspended the house arrest's implementation, saying questions had arisen over the legal interpretation of the king's pardon and of the court order allowing him to leave jail. On Saturday, the king warned that challenging the house-arrest order could amount to defying his decree — a warning Awaaz Punjab reported at the time.

Source: Reuters/Bernama via MyMixFM

Read Awaaz Punjab's earlier report on the king's warning: Malaysia's king warns over Najib order

The attorney general's chambers applied urgently to rectify the November 6 order, and Tuesday's hearing — at which Najib arrived at the Kuala Lumpur court complex accompanied by prison wardens — ended with the judge replacing the order entirely with the one the chambers had sought. Police later sealed off the road leading to the house, local media reported.

What the house arrest does — and does not — cover

The house arrest covers only the SRC International sentence. A separate 15-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, imposed in December 2025 in a second 1MDB trial, is due to begin when the house arrest ends: under Tuesday's order, Najib returns to Kajang Prison on August 24, 2028, to serve it, and he is appealing that conviction. Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, co-founded the state fund 1MDB and was found guilty of corruption in relation to the embezzlement of billions of dollars tied to it.

Source: MediaSelangor — High Court orders Najib to serve house arrest immediately

August 23, 2028Najib's house arrest runs until, under the High Court's new order
RM50 millionThe fine — yaani about US$12.3 million — whose payment was the royal pardon's condition
2009–2018Najib Razak's years as Malaysia's prime minister
What happens next

Najib serves the rest of his SRC sentence at home until August 2028. After that, the 15-year sentence from the second 1MDB trial is due to begin at Kajang Prison — unless his appeal against that conviction succeeds first.