UMNO has paid the RM50 million fine attached to former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's conditional royal pardon
Malaysia's Attorney-General has suspended his transfer to house arrest, seeking clarification on how the pardon affects his separate 15-year sentence in the 1MDB case
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticised UMNO's decision to pay the fine, while acknowledging that the party was entitled to make the payment
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will remain in prison despite his party, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), paying the RM50 million ($12.3 million) fine required under the terms of his conditional royal pardon. The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) has put his transfer to house arrest on hold, citing legal ambiguities over the implementation of the pardon and its effect on a separate prison sentence.
The intervention came on Friday, hours after UMNO confirmed that it had completed payment at the Kuala Lumpur High Court's criminal registry through a fundraising campaign. Najib's special officer, Ahmad Lutfi Azhar, handled the payment and the necessary administrative procedures, according to Malaysia's national news agency Bernama.
Malaysia's King, Sultan Ibrahim, granted Najib a conditional pardon on September 18, allowing him to serve the remainder of his reduced six-year sentence in the SRC International fund misappropriation case under house arrest until August 23, 2028. Payment of the RM50 million fine was one of the conditions attached to the decision.
However, the AGC said the wording of the pardon raised questions about whether payment of the fine merely fulfilled the financial condition, allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, or meant that his entire SRC sentence was considered completed.
Why The Legal Clarification Matters
The distinction affects Najib's separate 15-year prison sentence in a second 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)-related case. That sentence, handed down in December 2025 after his conviction for abuse of power and money laundering involving approximately RM2.3 billion, was ordered to begin after completion of his SRC sentence. Najib has appealed against the second conviction.
The AGC wants the legal position clarified before implementing the house-arrest arrangement. It said the temporary suspension was not intended to challenge the King's decision but to ensure that the pardon was carried out in accordance with the law. The AGC also said Najib would remain at his existing place of detention until the issues were resolved.
The payment has also drawn criticism from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He said he personally disagreed with UMNO settling the fine, arguing that the move risked giving the impression that corruption involving billions of ringgit could be overlooked. However, he acknowledged that the payment was the party's prerogative and said the government respected the constitutional and legal process.
Najib has been imprisoned since August 2022 following his conviction in the SRC International case. His original 12-year sentence and RM210 million fine were reduced by the Pardons Board in January 2024 to six years and RM50 million. The latest dispute now centres on how the September 2026 pardon affects the sequence of his remaining sentences.
