Thousands gather at Malaysia court ahead of decision on Najib house arrest

PUTRAJAYA – Thousands gathered outside court on Jan 6 to await the Court of Appeal’s decision on former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s bid to

serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest

.

The crowd began assembling at the Palace of Justice in administrative capital Putrajaya at 8am and comprised those from his Umno party, which forms part of the ruling coalition government, as well as opposition alliance Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Leaders from PN, such as Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia deputy president Hamzah Zainudin, arrived later and entered the courtroom.

A group of about 20 Umno supporters from Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, wore red shirts printed with the words “Solidarity with Najib” and chanted “Support Bossku”, using a moniker for Najib

The hearing began at 9.20am.

In January 2024, the then Malaysian King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, chaired a Pardons Board meeting that decided to halve Najib’s jail sentence from 12 to six years for his conviction in

a graft case tied to the multibillion-dollar scandal involving state fund 1MDB.

Since April 2024, Najib has been pursuing a legal bid to compel the government to confirm and execute an “addendum order”, which he claims was issued by the former king alongside the Pardon Board’s decision and entitled him to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court

dismissed Najib’s application

in July 2024.

PAS MP Siti Mastura Muhammad said she was present at the rally to find out whether there was a royal addendum issued by the former king.

“We are here to fight for justice for Najib, as enshrined in the Constitution. We want to know whether the addendum decree exists or not,” she told reporters.

Similarly, an Umno division chief from Selangor, Datuk Arman Azha Abu Hanifah, emphasised the importance of establishing the facts regarding the royal addendum.

“Umno respects the royal institution and the police’s decision not to approve the rally. However, I am here as an individual and a friend of Najib to listen to the court’s decision,” the 50-year-old told the media.

Prior to this, the National Palace had on Jan 3 reiterated that any prisoner requesting a pardon or a reduction in sentence must submit a fresh application to the Pardons Board, which is chaired by the current Malaysian King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar.

Malaysian police chief Razarudin Husain subsequently urged the public to refrain from attending the planned rally in support of Najib, in order to “uphold the command of the King”.

While Umno retracted its call for the gathering out of respect for the King, PAS said it proceeded with the rally to “defend” the Malaysian King’s prerogative powers as stated in the royal decree and to support Najib’s rights, especially with regard to the royal addendum order.

PAS’ defiance has prompted Barisan Nasional (BN), an alliance led by Umno, to criticise the Islamic party as a political opportunist aiming to capitalise on Najib’s appeal. BN is also part of the federal unity government headed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his coalition Pakatan Harapan.

“It is an immoral move to take advantage of Najib’s suffering, as he has been humiliated and slandered in their own political propaganda. Now, they seek to use this opportunity to build momentum and achieve their own political agenda,” said a statement from BN on Jan 5, without naming PAS.

PAS’ actions have reignited discussions about potential cooperation between Malay-centric Umno and Islamist party PAS.

Independent analyst Adib Zalkapli views PAS’ move as an attempt to destabilise the government rather than to form a pre-election coalition for Malaysia’s 16th general election, which must be called by February 2028.

“The opposition (PAS) could potentially benefit from anything that may destabilise the government or cause disunity within it. So it was only natural for PAS and PN to lead the pro-Najib rally.

“A formal, pre-election cooperation is very unlikely, but we can expect collaboration among certain leaders from both parties who are either interested in destabilising Madani (the current government), Najib’s release, or both,” he told The Straits Times.

Currently, the Anwar-led unity government holds 153 parliamentary seats. The opposition coalition holds 68 seats, with PAS having the biggest number with 43 seats. No single party or single coalition has had a simple majority in the country’s 222-seat Parliament since the 2022 General Election.

Professor James Chin, who teaches Asian studies at the University of Tasmania, said: “For the Najib camp, it is a very clear win because it looks very likely now that he has gone back to the courts to get them to enforce this order. It is very difficult for the courts to say no to him because it is widely understood that the royals have absolute prerogative when it comes to commuting or giving pardons.”