KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — The High Court today dismissed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s application to stay the execution of his 15-year prison sentence and RM11.38 billion fine in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption case.
The decision clears the way for a fresh warrant of committal to be executed against Najib once he completes his reduced custodial sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case, with his 15-year 1MDB jail term scheduled to commence in August 2028.
Delivering her decision, High Court Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin held that the gravity of the offences and overarching public interest considerations outweighed the applicant's private grievances.
She further rejected lawyers’ assertions that Najib's health constituted a special circumstance warranting a stay.
“Having weighed the competing interests of the applicant against public interest considerations, the court does not agree that the medical issues raised satisfy the special circumstances test,” the judge said.
“The medical report gave me the impression that the applicant’s medical needs are very well taken care of by the government, hospitals and experts.”
Noor Ruwena also ruled that the multi-billion-ringgit fine did not amount to special circumstances, as payment is not enforceable until his avenues for appeal are exhausted.
“Therefore, I find no merit in this application and it is accordingly dismissed,” she said.
Arguing against the stay, Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib submitted that granting interim relief would inflict tangible prejudice on the public interest and undermine judicial finality in a trial spanning seven years.
“On the balance of convenience, the applicant’s grievance is speculative and the public’s interest in the enforcement of a valid conviction is real and immediate,” Akram argued.
“We submit that the applicant has failed to discharge the burden — which rests squarely upon him — of establishing the existence of special or exceptional circumstances warranting the extraordinary exercise of the court’s discretion.
“The interests of justice, the gravity of the offences, the accused’s prior convictions and the overwhelming public interest considerations all compel the conclusion that the application ought to be dismissed,” he added.
Lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah explained that the stay was not filed immediately after the verdict on Dec 26 last year to preserve Najib's eligibility for concurrent sentencing should his appeal succeed:
“The non-application for a stay on that day was expressly premised upon the applicant’s liberty to apply for a stay at a later date, depending on subsequent developments in the law or other circumstances,” he said.
Najib was convicted on Dec 26 last year by then-trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, now a Federal Court judge, on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds, carrying a 15-year jail term, an RM11.38 billion fine, and a recoverable sum of RM2.081 billion.
Najib is already in prison, serving his sentence stemming from a separate conviction in the SRC International trial.
On Sept 18, Federal Territories Pardons Board announced that Najib could serve the remainder of his reduced SRC sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, subject to conditions including payment of a RM50 million fine.