Malaysia has laid out the strict conditions under which former prime minister Najib Razak will serve the rest of his sentence at home, warning that any breach will send him straight back to prison.

Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told parliament on Thursday that Najib, 73, must not make public statements, attend public gatherings or take part in political activities while under house arrest. He is also barred from using phones or other telecommunication devices except with permission from the Prisons Department, and visitors may only be received with written permission.

Najib was moved from Kajang Prison to his home in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, after spending four years behind bars. The transfer followed a royal pardon granted in September by King Sultan Ibrahim, which allowed him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Return to prison if rules are broken

Saifuddin told lawmakers that Najib must also attend a rehabilitation and intervention programme, and that the consequences of breaking the conditions are clear.

“In the conditions provided… if there is a violation, then the party who violates the conditions will immediately be returned to Kajang Prison or any prison determined by the Commissioner General (of the Prisons Department),” the minister said, according to Reuters.

The minister said Najib may live with immediate family members, including “any wives, children, in-laws and grandchildren”. He did not say whether the former prime minister had been fitted with a monitoring tag.

A pardon, a court order and a delay

The path to house arrest was not straightforward. Najib had been expected to be transferred last Friday after a fine was paid as a condition of the royal pardon, but the move was halted after a last-minute intervention by the attorney general, who raised questions over the legal interpretation of the pardon and a court order allowing him to leave jail.

Malaysia’s High Court then cleared the way on Tuesday, ordering that Najib could begin house arrest with immediate effect, state news agency Bernama reported. The transfer took place the same day.

September’s pardon was Najib’s second. The country’s previous king halved his original 12-year sentence in 2024.

The 1MDB scandal

Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was found guilty of corruption linked to the embezzlement of funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state investment fund he co-founded while in power.

US investigators say at least $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB in a complex, globe-spanning scheme that also drew in Hollywood figures and major banks and brought down Najib’s government. Prosecutors have said more than $1 billion flowed into accounts linked to Najib.

Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing and maintains he was made a scapegoat for the scandal.

He also faces an additional 15-year jail sentence after being convicted of corruption in a second 1MDB-linked case last year. He is appealing against that verdict.

What happens next

The terms set out in parliament on Thursday give the Prisons Department the final say on Najib’s movements, communications and visitors for the remainder of his sentence. Any breach, the minister made clear, will mean an immediate return to prison.

The case remains one of Malaysia’s most divisive political stories, and the strict terms of the house arrest are likely to keep it at the centre of public debate in the weeks ahead.