Politics · Other · 4 hrs ago
Malaysia court rejects Najib's bid to suspend 15-year 1MDB sentence
A Malaysian court rejected former prime minister Najib Razak’s request to delay a 15-year sentence linked to the 1MDB scandal.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court said his health and other grounds did not amount to the special circumstances needed to suspend the punishment.
The sentence followed a separate corruption case involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state investment fund Najib co-founded while he was prime minister.
Najib denies wrongdoing and has been in prison since 2022 after Malaysia’s top court upheld an earlier conviction.
The new sentence is due to begin after his current term ends in August 2028.
Last month, the king granted him a conditional pardon in a separate SRC International case, allowing him to serve the remainder of that sentence at home if he pays a 50 million ringgit fine.
Najib’s appeal against the 15-year sentence remains pending, but the court’s decision means he will not avoid starting it when his current term ends.
A Malaysian court rejected former prime minister Najib Razak’s request to suspend a 15-year sentence linked to the 1MDB scandal.
The court ruled that his health and other grounds did not justify delaying the sentence.
The sentence is due to begin after his current term ends in August 2028.
Najib received a conditional royal pardon last month in a separate case, allowing him to serve the remainder of that sentence at home if he pays a 50 million ringgit fine.
- Who
- Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.
- What
- A court rejected his request to suspend a 15-year sentence linked to the 1MDB scandal while he appeals.
- When
- Oct 14, 2026.
- Where
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Why
- The judge said Najib had not established special circumstances that justified a stay, and that the seriousness of the offences was an important public interest consideration.
Najib’s lawyers
Kuala Lumpur High Court
Basis for a stay
Najib’s lawyers
Najib’s lawyers asked the court to suspend the sentence on medical grounds.
Kuala Lumpur High Court
The court ruled that his health and other grounds did not justify a stay.
Circumstances
Najib’s lawyers
The lawyers sought to delay the sentence while Najib appeals.
Kuala Lumpur High Court
The judge said there were no special circumstances warranting a stay.
Najib entered prison after Malaysia’s top court upheld his conviction for graft and money laundering linked to 1MDB.
Najib was found guilty in a separate 1MDB corruption case and received an additional 15-year sentence.
Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a conditional pardon in a separate case, allowing him to serve the remainder of that sentence at home if he paid a 50 million ringgit fine.
Najib’s current term is due to end, after which the 15-year sentence is set to begin.
The court rejected Najib’s request to suspend the 15-year sentence.
- Sentence
- 15 years
- Case
- 1MDB corruption scandal
- Fine condition for pardon
- 50 million ringgit
- Current term due to end
- August 2028
- Judge
- Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin
3 sources
What people are saying
Therefore on final merit, the application is accordingly dismissed