Wire reporting: (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak began serving the rest of a reduced graft sentence at his Kuala Lumpur home on Nov. 10 after the High Court issued a new order implementing a conditional royal pardon^1,8,10,12.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told parliament on Thursday that Najib is barred from political activity, media statements and deliberate media or social-media appearances, and that any breach would return him immediately to prison^3,9.

The arrangement covers only Najib’s first conviction, involving SRC International, a former 1MDB-linked unit^5,6,10. He was jailed in August 2022; a 12-year term and 210 million ringgit fine were later cut to six years and 50 million ringgit, which his party paid^5,6,9. House arrest is scheduled through Aug. 23, 2028^6,9.

Najib left Kajang Prison last Friday after the fine was paid, then was returned hours later when the attorney-general’s chambers sought clarification of an earlier court order^6,8,10. Malaysia’s king, Sultan Ibrahim, said the pardon was unambiguous and warned that disputing it would amount to defying the decree^5,6,10. On Tuesday Judge Aslam Zainuddin cancelled the prior discharge paper and ordered home detention under the pardon^8,10.

Saifuddin said the Pardons Board set rules on residence, visitors, phones and rehabilitation⁹. Najib must stay at No. 11, Jalan Langgak Duta; a request for a second residence was refused⁹. Immediate family may live with him; others need written permission⁹. He may not leave without written approval, though prison officers would take him to Friday prayers, the minister said⁹. Only phones registered with the Prisons Department are allowed⁹.

Three prison officers per shift, three shifts a day, plus police, monitor the house; Saifuddin said officers were reassigned from Kajang Prison at no extra payroll cost⁹. Najib’s pension has been stopped, though other former-prime-minister benefits continue under existing law, the minister said⁹.

A separate 15-year sentence from a December 2025 1MDB-related trial is not covered^1,5,6,10. Channel News Asia reported the attorney-general said Najib should return to Kajang Prison on Aug. 24, 2028, for that case if his appeal fails⁵. Najib has denied wrongdoing⁶.

UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said opposing the pardon could be read as challenging the king’s Article 42 powers¹¹. Channel News Asia reported Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigned as the transfer went ahead, and that analysts saw political strain for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim without an immediate collapse of the unity government⁵. A Melaka state election is due this Saturday^3,5.

What remains unpublished in the sources reviewed here includes a full independent text of the pardon instrument and how strictly prisons will police media and visitor rules.