Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim addressed a press conference alongside Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam at the Federal Government office 'Putra Perdana' in Putrajaya, near Kuala Lumpur, on November 21, 2024. – Reuters

During the conference, Anwar Ibrahim declined to respond to inquiries regarding a royal decree that reportedly permits jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve his prison sentence at home. Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in August 2022 after Malaysia's top court upheld his conviction in a corruption case tied to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. However, the sentence was reduced to six years this year by a pardons board chaired by former King Al-Sultan Abdullah, just before his reign concluded in January. Malaysia operates under a unique monarchy system where the country's nine sultans rotate the role of king every five years.

Since April, Najib has been seeking legal action to force the government to acknowledge and implement an 'addendum order' he claims was issued by the former king alongside the pardons board's decision, allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence at home. The former monarch has yet to comment on the matter. Anwar stated in parliament that he could not address questions from lawmakers about the document due to parliamentary rules concerning matters under judicial review. He acknowledged presenting Najib's pardon request to the king, noting that the ex-premier had the right to be heard, but emphasized he was not present during the pardons board's decision to halve Najib's sentence. Both the king and the prime minister are part of the board, though the premier can be represented by a federal territories minister.

'Until this case is resolved in court or the king permits discussion, we cannot address it,' Anwar said, adding that he had referred the issue to the current king, Sultan Ibrahim, for further consideration. Malaysia's Court of Appeal is scheduled to review Najib's request on January 6, 2025, following an earlier attempt that was dismissed by a lower tribunal in July. Najib's son recently submitted an affidavit in court, confirming he had received a copy of the addendum from Al-Sultan Abdullah's royal household, though his lawyers chose not to reveal its contents.

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