DATUK Seri Najib Razak has failed in his bid to stay his 15-year prison sentence and RM11.38 billion fine in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case pending his appeal.
High Court judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin dismissed the application today, ruling that Najib had failed to establish exceptional circumstances to justify a stay of execution.
In her decision, Noor Ruwena said Najib could no longer be considered a first-time offender after his conviction in the SRC International case was upheld by the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
Najib, 73, had cited several grounds in support of his application, including his deteriorating health and the substantial financial penalty imposed on him.
The prosecution opposed the application, arguing that he had not met the legal threshold for a stay.
On Dec 26 last year, the High Court convicted Najib of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion in 1MDB funds.
He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for each abuse of power charge and five years for each money laundering charge.
All the prison terms were ordered to run concurrently, but will only take effect after he completes his existing sentence in the SRC International case.
The court also fined Najib RM11.38 billion. Failure to pay the fine would result in a further 10-year jail term for each abuse of power offence.
The abuse of power charges were brought under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.
The money laundering charges were filed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.
The offences were alleged to have taken place at AmIslamic Bank Berhad in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between February 2011 and December 2014.
Najib has appealed against both his conviction and sentence in the 1MDB case. - October 24, 2026