Prisons dept finalising regulations for house arrest, says home minister

The prisons department is now in the final phase of drafting regulations and conditions for the implementation of home detention following the conditional pardon decision that allows former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the matter is being pursued following a letter from the Pardons Board secretariat, which allows the prisons department to set conditions for the implementation of house arrest.

“The prisons department is in the final phase, they are currently drafting it. Our country has never had (house arrest) before.

“In the letter from the Pardons Board secretariat to the prisons department, it is stated that the department can impose any conditions.

“So our task is to develop a set of regulations and work on them,” he told reporters after officiating an event by the National Anti-Drug Agency in Felda Tenang, here today.

However, Saifuddin said Najib is still at Kajang Prison because he has not paid the RM50 million fine, which is one of the conditions for him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

Last month, the Yang diPertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, granted Najib a conditional pardon to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to the payment of a RM50 million fine.

Recently, Najib’s lead counsel, Shafee Abdullah, had said his client would spend the remainder of his prison sentence for the SRC International case with his family at his residence in Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur, under a home detention order granted by the King.