By denying the stay, the court has cleared the legal path for a fresh warrant of committal to be executed against Najib. His 15-year term, imposed by trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah on December 26, 2024, is scheduled to commence in August 2028. This date follows the expected completion of his current, reduced six-year custodial sentence in a separate trial involving SRC International Sdn Bhd.
Judge Noor Ruwena stated that the gravity of the offences and overarching public interest considerations outweighed the applicant’s private grievances. “The medical report gave me the impression that the applicant’s medical needs are very well taken care of by the government, hospitals and experts,” the judge said, concluding that the health issues did not satisfy the legal test for special circumstances. The court also ruled that the massive fine did not constitute special circumstances, noting that payment is not enforceable until all avenues for appeal are exhausted.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib argued against the stay, stating that granting interim relief would undermine judicial finality in a trial that spanned seven years. “On the balance of convenience, the applicant’s grievance is speculative and the public’s interest in the enforcement of a valid conviction is real and immediate,” he submitted. The prosecution emphasized that Najib failed to discharge the burden of establishing exceptional circumstances.
Najib, 73, has been incarcerated since 2022. In a separate legal development, his party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), recently paid a RM50 million ($12.3 million) fine to secure a royal pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his reduced six-year sentence under house arrest. Although UMNO Secretary-General Asyraf Wajid Dusuki confirmed the payment via a donation drive, the Attorney General’s office subsequently announced that the transfer to house arrest had been temporarily suspended pending clarification of legal conditions regarding the pardon.
The 15-year sentence stems from Najib’s conviction for corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB scandal, a state investment fund he co-founded while serving as prime minister from 2009 to 2018. Investigators allege approximately $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund, with over $1 billion linked to Najib. In his 809-page grounds of judgment, Judge Sequerah noted that the scale of the plunder was immense, dismissing Najib’s defense that he was merely misled by financier Jho Low.
Najib has denied all wrongdoing, asserting he was solely blamed for a complex global fraud scheme. He is currently appealing the 1MDB conviction. The court’s October 14 ruling means the execution of the 15-year term and the RM11.38 billion fine remains active, with the sentence set to begin in August 2028 upon the conclusion of his current detention.
