PETALING JAYA: Anti-corruption activists have spoken out against the conditional pardon granted to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The decision, announced by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department following the 64th Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, has sparked concerns over perceived preferential treatment.
Regional specialist on anti-corruption, public accountability and governance reform Pushpan Murugiah noted that while house arrest, when properly applied, is a progressive penal tool aimed at decarceration and humanistic reform, its selective deployment corrupts its philosophy.
“From a jurisprudential standpoint, house arrest — or home detention — carries an eloquent and progressive philosophy when properly situated within a modern criminal justice system,” said the former C4 chief executive officer.
Pushpan explained that globally, such measures are intended to manage prison overcrowding, lower recidivism rates, and allow non-violent, low-risk offenders to reintegrate into society while maintaining familial obligations.
However, he argued that when ordinary citizens face severe sentencing and insurmountable fines in conventional prisons, the customised use of Section 3 of the Prisons Act 1995 for a former prime minister transforms a progressive legal mechanism into an exclusive instrument of privilege.
“The core of the antara dua darjat critique does not lie in the rejection of house arrest as a legal tool, but in its disproportionate access,” he said.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Dr Raymon Ram, meanwhile, said the clemency power under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution must be respected, but warned that Najib’s house arrest arrangement carries serious implications for Malaysia’s anti-corruption credibility.
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“Malaysia’s anti-corruption credibility will ultimately be judged by whether the principles of accountability, proportionality and equality before the law remain equally strong when those involved are powerful,” he said.
Under the conditional pardon, Najib can serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, provided he pays a fine of RM50mil and complies with all statutory terms attached to the royal order.
Authorities stressed that any breach will result in automatic revocation of the pardon, with Najib required to immediately return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
The former prime minister has been serving a six-year sentence for the SRC International case since August 2022, following a Federal Court ruling that upheld his conviction and 12-year jail term, later halved by the Pardons Board in 2024.
