Malaysian king warns against defying house arrest order for ex-PM Najib

Malaysia’s king has warned that any attempt to challenge his order granting jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak house arrest could amount to defying ⁠his decree, a day after authorities delayed Najib’s transfer. The 73-year-old Najib was jailed for his role in one of the largest-ever global plunders of a sovereign wealth fund, the now-defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

But King Sultan Ibrahim granted him a conditional pardon in September, allowing him to serve out the rest of his sentence at home provided he paid a $12m fine. On Friday, the country’s attorney general blocked the former prime minister’s transfer to house arrest after the fine was paid, saying his office needed more clarification on the pardon.

“There should be no confusion in interpretation,” King Ibrahim said in a statement, adding it was not tied to any other cases against the former leader.