Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had his jail term cut from 12 to six years by the outgoing Malaysian Agong, Abdullah of Pahang, CNA reported on Jan. 31.

Partial pardon?

According to CNA, Malaysia's Pardons Board has slashed Najib's prison term in half, to six years in what it described as a "partial royal pardon".

The Pardon Board meeting, said to be on Jan 29, was the last to be chaired by outgoing Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah of Pahang.

CNA cited "senior government officials" in Malaysia as sources, who also reported that Najib's RM210 million (S$65.33 million) fine had been reduced, although it is not known by how much.

CNA speculated that this meant Najib could possibly be released as early as August 2026, taking into account a one-third reduction for good conduct.

CNA also reported that it was contacting Malaysian authorities for further comment, but that Najib's lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had said he had yet to be informed of any decision by the Pardons Board.

Najib was initially sentenced to 12 years and a RM210 million (S$65.33 million) fine in July 2020, and was sent to prison in 2022 after exhausting his final appeal. 

A royal pardon was his final attempt to mitigate or eliminate his sentence.

Rumours

Rumours have been rife since Jan. 29 when Utusan Malaysia published, than retracted a report that Najib had been pardoned.

It later apologised for publishing an "unverified story".

It is not clear how a pardon would impact Najib's other ongong trial, the M2.28 billion (S$436.5 million) 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption trial.

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