Malaysia's attorney-general yesterday postponed jailed former premier Najib Razak's transfer to house arrest to review his royal pardon, in a last-minute intervention after a court cleared him to leave prison four years into his sentence.
Najib, prime minister from 2009-2018, was jailed in relation to a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad and was granted approval in a September royal pardon to serve the remaining two years of his sentence at home.
Najib was given the green light from a court earlier on Friday to start his house arrest and left prison briefly to undergo a scheduled dental check, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Police and throngs of media had gathered for most of the day outside the former premier's cordoned-off Kuala Lumpur home in anticipation of his arrival.
But the Attorney-General's Chambers late on Friday said questions had arisen over the legal interpretation of King Sultan Ibrahim's pardon and the court order allowing him to leave jail.
"In this regard, the implementation of house arrest... should be temporarily suspended until further investigation and clarification," it said in a three-page statement.
Najib's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the attorney-general's move.
One of Malaysia's most influential and divisive politicians, Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the 1MDB case and insists he was made the scapegoat for the complex, globe-spanning scheme that siphoned away as much as $4.5bn, according to US investigators.
More than $1bn allegedly made its way into accounts linked to Najib, 1MDB's co-founder, prosecutors have said.
He was also convicted in a separate 1MDB-related case in December last year, for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $2.8bn for abuse of power and money laundering. He has lodged an appeal in that case.
Najib was given a boost earlier on Friday when his party, the United Malays National Organisation, paid a 50mn ringgit ($12.32mn) fine on his behalf, raised through crowdfunding, to fulfil the conditions of his pardon.
Najib's lawyer, Farhan Shafee, had earlier said the transfer was expected to take place yesterday "if the process goes according to plan".
Najib was for years a towering figure in Malaysian politics and still commands influence in UMNO, which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's multi-party government.
Anwar's Pakatan Harapan alliance has strongly opposed leniency towards Najib, putting it at odds with the once dominant UMNO, and his transfer to house arrest could create more tension in the coalition government.
It is also likely to fuel criticism over the government's handling of corruption cases and further erode support for Anwar after setbacks in two state elections this year, which went the way of Najib's UMNO
Though the next general election is not due to take place until early 2028, Anwar has said he could call a snap poll if rifts deepen.
Transport Minister Loke, who is also leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), the largest member of Anwar's ruling bloc, on Friday said he would resign from the cabinet as soon as Najib begins house arrest.
Tony Pua a former DAP lawmaker who played a key role in uncovering the 1MDB scandal, said Najib was "Malaysia's biggest crook" and chided UMNO for fundraising to get him out of prison.
"Instead of using such a large sum of money to help ordinary Malaysians, they chose to 'free' Malaysia's most corrupt," he said on Facebook.