KUALA LUMPUR — Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has withdrawn his appeal against the High Court’s decision to dismiss his application for a judicial review regarding an addendum order for him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
By withdrawing his appeal, Najib, 72, will remain in Kajang Prison, where he serving a reduced sentence of six years.
A notice from the law firm of Messrs. Shafee & Co dated April 2 obtained by the media today, stated that Najib’s lawyers had discontinued and withdrawn the appeal without liberty to re-file, and without any order regarding costs.
No reasons were given for the withdrawal.
Bernama, citing court records, said the Court of Appeal was informed of the Notice of Discontinuance for the appeal on April 3.
Court records also show that the Notice of Discontinuance was official recorded by the Court of Appeal’s deputy registrar Adilah Mohtar on April 14, and the appeal was recorded as struck out.
Najib has been in Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, when the Federal Court upheld his conviction and original sentence of 12 years in prison for embezzling RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd. He was also fined RM210 million.
Through a petition for a royal pardon, the former Pekan MP’s sentence was halved to six years, and the fine reduced to RM50 million.
In April 2024, Najib filed an application for a judicial review for the government to prove the existence of the addendum order.
On December 22 last year, the High Court dismissed his application for the judicial review on grounds that the alleged order was invalid as it was not issued as part of the official meeting of the Federal Territories Pardons Board that decided on Najib’s reduced sentence.
The same month, Najib’s legal team filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s decision.
Lawyers previously told the Malay Mail Online that Najib could complete the remainder of his sentence by August 2029 at the latest, or as early as August 2026, depending on his payment of the fine and if he is given a reduction of jail time for good behaviour. – April 27, 2026