KUALA LUMPUR – The Prisons Department is expected to issue standard operating procedures (SOP) for the implementation of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house arrest in the near future.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said the SOP would detail matters involving visits, security controls and monitoring of the former prime minister’s movements.
“I understand that there will be an SOP issued for the purpose of house arrest,” he told Astro Awani here on Saturday.
Dusuki said Najib would first have to pay the RM50 million fine at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Registrar’s Office before the house arrest process could proceed.
On Friday, the King, Sultan Ibrahim, granted a conditional pardon to Najib, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, provided he paid the RM50 million fine.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board chaired by His Majesty on Friday.
Najib, 73, had been serving his prison sentence at Kajang Prison since Aug 23, 2022.
The conviction for which he was serving his sentence involved the misappropriation of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, while cases related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) remained subject to trial and appeals.
On Sept 11, media reports stated that the Federal Territories Pardons Board had met to consider, among other matters, Najib’s application for a pardon over his conviction for misappropriating SRC International funds.
However, the board subsequently deferred Najib’s pardon application to its next meeting.
In July 2020, Najib was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International funds and was fined RM210 million and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The sentence was upheld by the Federal Court in August 2022.
However, on Feb 2, 2024, the Pardons Board Secretariat announced that Najib’s 12-year prison sentence had been reduced by 50 per cent to six years, while his fine was reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
The Federal Territories Pardons Board was chaired by the King and comprises the Attorney-General, the minister responsible for the Federal Territories and three other members appointed by His Majesty. – AWANI