Will Najib Razak be transferred to house arrest?

What the report says

Malaysia is facing a public standoff over whether former prime minister Najib Razak should be moved from prison to house arrest, according to Al Jazeera. The dispute centers on a royal order and questions over who has the final authority to act on it: the king, the government, or the courts. Al Jazeera reported that the attorney general disputed the transfer order, prompting the pause in Najib’s release from jail.

Najib had been expected to leave prison after his party paid a $12 million fine tied to the conditions of a royal pardon. However, that transfer was suspended while the legal and constitutional questions are examined. The case has drawn attention because it involves Malaysia’s monarchy, the executive branch and the justice system in a sensitive dispute over institutional power.

The former leader is also separately appealing a 15-year sentence linked to abuse of power and money laundering. While Al Jazeera framed the issue as a clash over the king’s authority, broader context is that Malaysia’s royal institution can play a role in pardons, but such moves may still be subject to legal interpretation and official procedure. The outcome could affect Najib’s confinement status and set a wider precedent for how royal directives are handled.