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FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has obtained a stay of execution that allows him to temporarily postpone the payment of US$1.18 billion in damages to SRC International Sdn Bhd, pending the outcome of his appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment.
Judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin ruled that special circumstances justified the stay, citing the unprecedented magnitude of the judgment sum.
“These simultaneous judgments and orders faced by the defendant (Najib), when taken together, make up special circumstances on why a stay is to be granted.
“The court is satisfied that there are special circumstances that justify granting a stay of execution of the judgment.
“It is preferable for the case to be finally decided at the highest level before any enforcement is permitted, as this is the way other matters are handled.
"The court is not aware of any precedent where a monetary judgment of this magnitude has been entered against a single individual.
“The defendant, on the other hand, would suffer irreversible prejudice if execution were to proceed,” he said," he said.
The court on March 31 ordered Najib to repay US$1.18 billion to SRC for the losses suffered by the company after finding the former prime minister guilty of misconduct.
Ahmad Fairoz, in the same judgment, also ordered Najib to repay US$120 million of SRC funds deposited into his personal account.
In today’s proceedings, the judge ordered Najib to pay RM2 million in costs to SRC for the main suit, subject to allocation.
In third-party proceedings, Najib was ordered to pay RM150,000 in costs to each set of solicitors involved.
The civil action, filed in 2021, is part of efforts by SRC and related entities to recover billions of ringgit lost in transactions related to the wider 1MDB scandal.
The suit was originally filed naming Najib and six other former company directors as defendants. SRC later removed their names and retained Najib as the sole defendant.
However, in 2022, Najib obtained court permission to issue third-party notices to the six individuals, namely Datuk Suboh Md Yassin, Datuk Mohamed Azhar Osman Khairuddin, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, and Datuk Che Abdullah@ Rashidi Che Omar, which resulted in them being re-included in the suit. – May 13, 2026