PUTRAJAYA, Sept 11– His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, has consented to defer the decision on former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s pardon application to a future meeting of the Pardons Board.
The matter was announced in a statement issued today by the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister’s Department following the 63rd Pardons Board Meeting for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya at Istana Negara.
At the meeting, His Majesty also consented to the release of 65 prisoners, with all non-Malaysian prisoners granted release to be deported and repatriated to their countries of origin within six months of their release.
The Federal Territories Pardons Board is chaired by the King and comprises the Attorney-General, the minister responsible for the Federal Territories and three other members appointed by His Majesty.
Istana Negara has been the focus of media attention since early this morning for developments surrounding the Pardons Board meeting, which was believed to involve Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
In 2020, Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million after he was found guilty of all seven charges related to the misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International funds.
At its 61st meeting on Jan 29, 2024, the Pardons Board reduced the former Pekan MP’s prison sentence to six years and his fine to RM50 million.
On Dec 26 last year, the High Court sentenced Najib to 15 years in prison and fined him RM11.4 billion after finding him guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.3 billion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds. He filed an appeal on Dec 29, 2025.
In a separate civil case, the High Court on March 31 ordered Najib to repay USD1.3 billion to SRC International after finding that he had breached his fiduciary duties, abused his position and misappropriated company funds for personal benefit. The payment has been stayed pending his appeal.
Najib is also facing two other lawsuits, one filed by SRC International and Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd in 2021, and a US$5.64 billion civil suit brought by 1MDB and four of its subsidiaries. Both remain before the courts.
