A recent High Court ruling has dashed former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s hopes of being placed under house arrest, despite his earlier optimism.
His son, Nizar Najib, revealed that Najib had even begun packing his belongings in preparation to return home.
In a Facebook video posted after the ruling, Nizar shared that he met his father on the morning of the decision.
He said Najib was in good spirits and had started packing, believing he would soon be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest.
When I met him in the morning, I saw that he was in good spirits and had begun packing some of his belongings,” Nizar said.
Court rejects judicial review
That hope was short-lived.
On Dec 22, High Court judge Alice Loke dismissed Najib’s judicial review application related to an alleged royal decree known as the “Titah Addendum”.
According to Oriental Daily, the judge said the matter should have gone through the Pardons Board, as required under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution.
Nizar: Family heartbroken
Nizar expressed deep disappointment, saying the family had attended the court proceedings prepared for any outcome but still felt crushed by the decision.
We prepared for all possible outcomes, including the worst, as we had been disappointed by the court ruling multiple times,” he said in the video.
He added that Najib’s rising hopes earlier that day made the result even harder to accept.
Royal addendum dispute
Nizar also said the family had been pushing for house arrest since early 2024.
He claimed he had personally received a copy of the royal addendum from the Sultan of Pahang, who was the previous King.
Nizar further clarified that the royal addendum exists, noting that it was only acknowledged publicly after Najib’s lawyers filed a review application.
However, the court ultimately ruled the document invalid.
Family vows to continue efforts
Despite the setback, Nizar said the family would not give up.
“We will continue this struggle until justice is achieved,” he said. “This does not end today.”
Najib has been jailed since 2020 after being convicted in the SRC International case, becoming the first former Malaysian prime minister to be imprisoned for corruption.
