In Malaysia, Najib’s house arrest pits palace against prosecutors

AI Summary

A dispute over former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s house arrest has focused attention on the attorney general’s authority and the terms of a royal pardon. Legal experts say the standoff could provoke a constitutional clash but does not yet amount to a full-blown crisis.

A growing dispute over former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s house arrest has thrust the attorney general’s powers into the spotlight, raising the spectre of a constitutional clash – though legal experts say it falls short of a full-blown crisis. Najib, 73, was due to move from Kajang Prison to his Kuala Lumpur home on Friday after his political party, Umno, paid a 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine, fulfilling a condition of a royal pardon issued in September allowing him to...