A growing dispute over former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s house arrest has thrust the attorney general’s powers into the spotlight, raising the spectre of a constitutional clash – though legal experts say it falls short of a full-blown crisis.
Najib, 73, was due to move from Kajang Prison to his Kuala Lumpur home on Friday after his political party, Umno, paid a 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine, fulfilling a condition of a royal pardon issued in September allowing him to serve the remainder of his corruption sentence at home until its conclusion in August 2028.
But the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) intervened, citing conflicting interpretations of a High Court order directing his release into house arrest and the implications for Najib’s separate 15-year sentence for abuse of power and money laundering.