Jan 06, Kathmandu- Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak who was jailed will be allowed to serve the rest of his sentence at home after he said he could issue a royal decree to support his claim.

The 71-year-old Najib, who is serving a six-year prison sentence for corruption related to the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, was defeated in the 2018 election due to corruption allegations.

He faces several other cases related to financial scandals.

There was a debate in the Court of Appeal on the basis of the former king's order allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence in the country.

The three-judge bench ruled 2-1 in favor of Najib's appeal to allow him to use the royal proclamation to argue his case in the high court.

“Considering the fact that there is no challenge to the existence of the declaration, there is no basis to suggest that the order has not been complied with,” said Mohammad Firuz Jafri, one of the three judges involved in the ruling.

The High Court ruled in July that affidavits supporting Najib’s claim about the existence of the documents were inadmissible as evidence. The evidence, as claimed by the plaintiff, was not in writing.

Monday’s ruling means the case will go back to the High Court, where the royal proclamation can be presented as evidence to support the attempt to keep Najib under house arrest.

Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July 2020, but the sentence was later reduced by half by the Pardon Board.

He is also defending himself against corruption charges, which include allegations of bribery and money laundering involving more than US$500 million.