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SUGGESTIONS to surround Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s home with barbed wire, floodlights and armed guards if he begins serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest are “ridiculous”, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said.
Shafee said house arrest should allow a person to live a relatively normal life while serving a sentence and should be applicable as a form of detention beyond Najib’s case.
“Why not put barbed wire around Datuk Seri Najib, put up lights and build a high guardhouse for guards to sit there carrying submachine guns?” he said.
He said such measures were inconsistent with the rationale behind house arrest.
His remarks came after police and the Prisons Department conducted a security assessment at Najib’s Jalan Langgak Duta residence on Sept 21 in preparation for possible house arrest.
Sentul district police chief ACP Anuar Bakri Abdul Salam said no final decision had been made and authorities were awaiting the official order. He also dismissed reports that barbed wire or special fencing would be installed.
Najib was granted a conditional pardon on Sept 18 allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of an RM50 million fine and other conditions. He remains in Kajang Prison until the conditions are fulfilled.
On the RM50 million payment, Shafee said Najib had not asked the public to raise money for him, although others had launched fundraising efforts.
“He did not ask people to donate money. He himself did not ask; other people did,” he said.
Shafee said any decision by Najib on whether to accept donations would remain open to speculation.
“If he accepts the donation, people will say, ‘Ah, that is his money, he is just going around in circles, it has come back to him.’
“If he does not take the money and remains in prison, that is another speculation. Maybe you all will say, ‘This is a politician, he is playing it back, he wants to gain sympathy,’” he said.
Najib’s lawyers have previously said his ability to meet the RM50 million condition was partly dependent on matters outside his control, with a significant portion of his assets, bank accounts and properties subject to freezing orders and government enforcement proceedings. - September 25, 2026
