Malaysia’s Pardons Board to meet on Sept 11, Najib’s early release on agenda

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Najib Razak’s early release from jail could be confirmed as soon as Sept 11, just in time to mark a triumphant finale for UMNO as it concludes what could be its last national congress before a general election expected by 2027.

Government sources told The Straits Times that a Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting has been set for Sept 11, to be presided over by Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor, with Najib’s fate on the agenda.

“The minutes mention the matter of whether Najib should be allowed house arrest,” said one official on condition of anonymity.

Najib, who began serving a 12-year sentence due to a graft conviction related to a subsidiary of 1MDB in August 2022, had his jail term halved in 2024 by the Pardons Board and fine reduced to RM50 million (S$15.6 million) from a whopping RM210 million.

But he insisted that the then Agong, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad of Pahang, also issued an addendum decreeing that the former UMNO president should serve the rest of his sentence on house arrest.

The High Court ruled in 2025 that the addendum was unenforceable as it was not discussed by the Pardons Board and, therefore, unconstitutional as the royal prerogative must be exercised only after being advised by the board.

“Besides the High Court ruling, there is no specific provision for house arrest under the law. So the King could decide that a fresh pardon would stand on firmer ground,” a ruling party source told ST.

Each of the nine state rulers chairs the Pardons Boards of their respective states with the King – rotated in five-year terms among the nine monarchs – also presiding over the Pardons Board of the Federal Territories, which comprise capitals Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Labuan in east Malaysia.

The Federal Territories Pardons Board is further composed of the Attorney-General, the Federal Territories Minister and three other members appointed by the King on the advice of the government.

Najib’s release would cap off a winning streak for UMNO stretching back three months. Despite being a junior partner in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s multi-coalition federal government, its Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition won both Johor in July and Negeri Sembilan in August by handsome margins. 

On the other hand, Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) limped home with fewer seats compared with before the state assemblies were dissolved, extending a dismal run that began with the November 2025 drubbing in Sabah where it won just one of 22 seats contested.

PH’s top leadership had met on Sept 8 ostensibly to discuss plans for Melaka state polls expected by November, but coalition sources told ST that the meeting soon diverted to Najib’s possible release. Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh had received notice of the Pardons Board Meeting only earlier the same day.

Its secretariat issued a statement later the same night, expressing support for “the Agong’s decree that was delivered previously that each case (of corruption, leakages and abuse of power) must be investigated thoroughly without compromise”.

“PH, as a political coalition that from the beginning champions institutional reforms, good governance and rejects corruption… takes the view that any individual convicted of graft or abuse of power especially involving high-profile cases must serve their entire sentences as ruled by the court,” it said.

Sources present at the PH meeting told ST that the Attorney-General and Yeoh will object to further clemency for Najib.

“But in the end, it is up to the King. So Anwar will try to gain an audience before the Pardons Board meeting to discuss the matter,” said a senior official who attended the meeting.

The 1MDB saga made global headlines after 2015 allegations that billions of ringgit made their way to Najib’s personal accounts and was a factor in his UMNO losing the 2018 polls, ending its stranglehold on power for the first time since independence six decades earlier.

Najib is still facing other graft charges in court related to 1MDB and is appealing against a separate 2025 conviction on 25 counts of abuse of power and money laundering that resulted in a 15-year sentence.

PH had won the 2018 General Election and came out tops among the three main national coalitions in the 2022 vote which gave Malaysia its first-ever hung Parliament. Anwar was able to cobble together a so-called unity government with BN and other parties.

It campaigned during these polls on an anti-graft platform, and the release of Najib, although decreed by the King, will weigh negatively on Anwar’s coalition that is already struggling to retain support from voters.

On the other hand, UMNO has unilaterally ended a four-year electoral pact with PH established after joining the Anwar administration. Instead, its ongoing party assembly is set to affirm its commitment to a Malay Unity pact with the Parti Islam SeMalaysia-led Perikatan Nasional opposition coalition for the next general election.

Najib also remains influential among segments of the Malay-Muslim majority and continued campaigning for BN after his 2018 defeat until his eventual jailing in 2022.

In the likely event of another hung Parliament, it would be up to Sultan Ibrahim, whose term as King extends to 2029, to use his discretion to appoint a prime minister who is likely to command the confidence of the majority of MPs.