SHAH ALAM, Sept 11 — His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has consented to defer former prime minister Najib Razak’s pardon application to a future meeting of the Pardons Board.
The Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister’s Department said the matter was decided at the 63rd Meeting of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya today.
“His Majesty has consented to defer Najib’s pardon application to a future meeting,” it said in a statement today.
BHEUU said during the meeting, Sultan Ibrahim also consented to the immediate release of 65 prisoners.
“All non-citizen prisoners must be deported and sent back to their countries of origin within six months of their release.”
Previously, it was reported that the Pardons’ Board meeting today would consider, among other matters, Najib’s bid for a pardon over his convictions linked to the multibillion-ringgit 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh, who sits on the Pardons Board by virtue of her ministerial post, reportedly briefed the Pakatan Harapan presidential council of the matter on Tuesday night.
Najib has been serving his prison sentence since August 23, 2022, after he was found guilty in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd case. He was originally sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and fined RM210 million.
He has maintained that he is innocent and later submitted an application for a royal pardon.
In 2024, the Pardons Board, chaired by then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, reduced his jail term to six years and his fine to RM50 million.
Najib subsequently sought a court order compelling the government to implement an alleged addendum order by Al-Sultan Abdullah that would have allowed him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. The court dismissed the application last year.
In a separate case, Najib was convicted in December 2025 of four counts of abuse of power and 21 money-laundering offences involving more than RM2 billion linked to 1MDB.
He was handed another 15-year jail sentence and fined RM11.38 billion. He has since filed an appeal against the conviction.
