Pivotal week in court for Najib as two rulings could decide ex-Malaysian premier’s political fate

KUALA LUMPUR – Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak heads into a pivotal week in court, with two rulings that could reopen his path back to power.

Najib, who is serving time for crimes related to the 1MDB scandal,

will find out on

Dec 22

if he can serve the rest of his prison term, which ends in 2028, under house arrest. 

Four days later, the High Court will decide whether to convict or acquit him of four charges of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering, in his biggest trial linked to the sovereign wealth fund. 

Victory in both cases could pave the way for Najib to make a political comeback, and may spark a backlash against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has positioned himself as a champion against graft.

A reaffirmed conviction without house arrest would leave Najib, 72, firmly sidelined and further undermine his political relevance, while bolstering Mr Anwar’s assertion that the judiciary operates independently under his watch. 

“He did not get a fair trial” in both cases, Najib’s lawyer, Mr Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 18.

“We hope Monday is a good decision for us. We hope Friday is a good decision for us,” he said.

Mr Shafee in an October interview said Najib may return to politics if he is pardoned and allowed out of jail. “There is a saying in the Malay community or Malaysian community: Even a dried fish in politics can swim one day,” the lawyer said then.

Najib, whose father also served as prime minister, retains significant influence in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the party he once helmed and which Mr Anwar counts on for support.

UMNO, currently part of the ruling coalition, has continued to campaign for Najib’s release, and has even appealed to Malaysia’s current king, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, to grant him a full pardon. 

The former king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, had halved Najib’s 12-year prison sentence and reduced his fines in early 2024, just before his reign ended under Malaysia’s rotational monarchy. 

Najib claimed that Sultan Abdullah, who hails from his home state of Pahang, had also issued a supplementary royal order that he could serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. The former premier has petitioned to the court to compel the government to enforce the order, known as the royal addendum.

Should the court rule in Najib’s favour on Dec 22, the former premier must be put on house arrest immediately, his lawyer said.

But even if he does get a house arrest, a guilty verdict in the graft trial on Dec 26 means he would remain barred from active politics for a longer time, dashing hopes for a comeback.

Najib was ousted when UMNO, which had ruled Malaysia for six decades, lost power in 2018 after the 1MDB scandal. The party returned to power as part of Mr Anwar’s coalition in 2022.

Najib’s other cases related to the fund have either been resolved or are no longer active. The fund, formally known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd, took shape under him and became a multibillion-dollar scandal that spawned probes across the globe.

His wife,

Rosmah Mansor, was also recently freed from a case

involving alleged money laundering and alleged tax evasion after the prosecution withdrew its appeal against her initial acquittal. BLOOMBERG