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Jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has withdrawn his appeal against a court ruling that denied his request to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, according to reports from The Edge and other local media. Court documents show that Najib filed a notice of discontinuance on April 2, with his lawyers from Shafee & Co informing the Court of Appeal the following day that he would no longer pursue the appeal.

The decision brings to an end a legal battle centered on Najib's claim that an "addendum order" issued alongside his sentence reduction would have allowed him to serve the rest of his jail term under house arrest—an assertion that had sparked public debate in Malaysia over royal pardons, executive accountability, and whether the former leader was receiving preferential treatment.

Coverage Comparison

The two reports covering this story—one from the South China Morning Post and one from The Hindu—agree on the core facts. Both outlets confirm that Najib has dropped his appeal and that he is serving a six-year sentence stemming from his conviction in the 1MDB corruption scandal. They also both note that Najib was found guilty of graft and money laundering charges related to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state fund he co-founded in 2009 while in office.

However, the reports differ slightly in their framing. The South China Morning Post emphasizes the royal pardon angle, tying the appeal directly to the 2024 sentence reduction and highlighting the controversy over the alleged addendum order. The Hindu takes a more straightforward narrative approach, focusing on the withdrawal itself and recounting the timeline of convictions that have kept Najib in custody since August 2022.

Neither outlet attributes the discontinuance to any specific reason; court documents reportedly gave no explanation for the withdrawal.

Key Claims

  • Najib Razak dropped his legal bid to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence under house arrest, filing a notice of discontinuance for the appeal, as reported by both sources.
  • Najib is serving a six-year jail sentence in Kajang Prison. His original 12-year term for the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit (about US$10.6 million) from SRC International was halved by the Pardons Board in 2024, according to the South China Morning Post.
  • Najib was found guilty of graft and money laundering in one of several cases linked to the 1MDB scandal, per reports from both outlets. He has been serving his sentence since August 2022.
  • SRC International was formerly a unit of 1MDB, the state fund at the centre of a global corruption scandal, as noted by both sources.

Perspectives

The withdrawal has been interpreted by observers in Malaysia as a pragmatic legal decision by Najib, who may be calculating that further litigation would not yield favorable results. The house-arrest claim had nonetheless raised questions in the country about the fairness of the judicial process and the extent of royal intervention in the case, with some commentators noting the sensitivity of such issues in Malaysia's constitutional monarchy.

While the appeal is now closed, Najib continues to face legal proceedings in other cases tied to the 1MDB scandal, and the broader saga remains a potent political issue in Malaysia. The Pardons Board's decision to halve his sentence had already drawn public scrutiny, and the latest development is unlikely to end debate over the former prime minister's legacy.

This article includes reporting from the South China Morning Post and The Hindu.