Najib Razak Stays in Prison (CEFR Compare)

Apr 27, 2026, 07:30

Najib Razak Stays in Prison

Introduction

Najib Razak is a former leader of Malaysia. He wanted to leave prison and stay at home. Now, he stopped his fight in court.

Main Body

Najib's lawyers told the court on April 3 that they stop the request. He does not want to ask the court for home arrest again. The court said yes to this change on April 6. Najib took money from a big government fund called 1MDB. He took millions of dollars. A court said he must go to prison for many years. He said he was sorry for the mistakes, but he says he did not do a crime. Najib has many other legal problems. He must pay a lot of money. He also got another 15-year prison sentence for using his power in a bad way.

Conclusion

Najib Razak will stay in Kajang Prison. He cannot go home now.

Vocabulary Learning

court (n.)

judicial building / court法院

Example:法院聽取了證據。

lawyer (n.)

legal representative / lawyer律師

Example:律師建議他保持冷靜。

money (n.)

currency / money錢

Example:她為旅行存錢。

prison (n.)

correctional facility / prison監獄

Example:他將在監獄裡度過時間。

sentence (n.)

judicial punishment / sentence判刑

Example:法官判處15年監禁。

Sentence Learning

He wanted to leave prison and stay at home.

Conjunction: The word 'and' connects two verbs to show two actions.連接詞: 'and' 連接兩個動詞，表示兩個動作。

Now, he stopped his fight in court.

Time Marker: The word 'Now' indicates the present moment and shows when the action happened.時間詞: 'Now' 表示此時此刻，說明動作發生的時間。

Najib's lawyers told the court on April 3 that they stop the request.

Prepositional Phrase: The phrase 'on April 3' tells us the date of the action.介係詞短語: 'on April 3' 表示行動發生的日期。

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Drops Appeal for House Arrest

Introduction

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has stopped his legal attempts to move from prison to house arrest after the court rejected his request.

Main Body

The legal process ended when the law firm Shafee & Co sent a notice to the Court of Appeal on April 3, stating that the appeal was being withdrawn. According to court documents, the appeal was cancelled without the possibility of filing it again, and no specific reason for this decision was given. The Court of Appeal officially confirmed the withdrawal on April 6. This legal battle began after a 2024 decision by a pardons board, led by the former king, which reduced Najib's original 12-year sentence to six years. This sentence was related to the theft of 42 million ringgit from SRC International, a former part of the 1MDB state fund. Najib claimed that a separate order from the monarchy allowed him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest; however, he asserted that state authorities ignored this order. As a result, he took the matter to court, but the Kuala Lumpur High Court denied his request on December 22. In a broader context, Najib faces several convictions related to the 1MDB fund, which was created in 2009. Investigations by Malaysian and US authorities estimate that about US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund, with over US$1 billion allegedly linked to Najib's own accounts. Furthermore, in December, Najib received an additional 15-year sentence and a US$2.8 billion fine following a trial for money laundering and abuse of power. While Najib has apologized for the mismanagement of the fund, he has consistently denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Conclusion

Because the appeal has been withdrawn, Najib Razak will remain in Kajang Prison, meaning his current situation remains unchanged following these legal failures.

Vocabulary Learning

appeal (n.)

petition / a formal request to a higher authority上訴

Example:The court rejected his appeal.

conviction (n.)

guilty verdict / a formal finding of guilt有罪判決

Example:He faced several convictions.

mismanagement (n.)

poor handling / improper administration管理不善

Example:He apologized for the mismanagement of the fund.

sentence (n.)

judgement / the punishment decided by a court判決

Example:He received a six-year sentence.

withdrawn (adj.)

retracted / taken back or removed撤回

Example:His appeal was withdrawn.

Sentence Learning

This legal battle began after a 2024 decision by a pardons board, led by the former king, which reduced Najib's original 12-year sentence to six years.

Relative Clause: This clause adds information about which decision reduced the sentence.關係子句: 此子句提供了關於哪一項決定減輕 Najib 原始 12 年刑期的資訊。

The appeal was cancelled without the possibility of filing it again, and no specific reason for this decision was given.

Passive Voice: This sentence uses passive voice to describe the action performed on the appeal.被動語態: 此句使用被動語態，描述對上訴所採取的動作。

Najib claimed that a separate order from the monarchy allowed him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest; however, he asserted that state authorities ignored this order.

Contrastive Conjunction: The conjunction 'however' shows a contrast between Najib's claim and his assertion.對比連詞: 此連詞 'however' 表示 Najib 的主張與其否認之間的對比。

Investigations by Malaysian and US authorities estimate that about US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund, with over US$1 billion allegedly linked to Najib's own accounts.

Complement Clause: The clause 'that about US$4.5 billion was stolen' completes the verb 'estimate'.補語從句: 此從句補足動詞 'estimate' 的內容，說明估計金額被盜。

The legal process ended when the law firm Shafee & Co sent a notice to the Court of Appeal on April 3, stating that the appeal was being withdrawn.

Passive Progressive: The phrase 'was being withdrawn' is a passive progressive form indicating ongoing action.被動進行式: 此片語使用被動進行式，表示上訴正在被撤回的進行動作。

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Withdraws Appeal for House Arrest

Introduction

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has ceased legal efforts to transition from prison to home detention, following a court's rejection of his request.

Main Body

The legal proceedings concluded when the law firm Shafee & Co submitted a Notice for Discontinuance to the Court of Appeal on April 3. Court documentation indicates that the appeal was withdrawn without the provision for a subsequent filing, and no specific justification for this decision was provided. The Court of Appeal formally acknowledged this withdrawal in correspondence dated April 6. This legal challenge originated from a 2024 decision by a pardons board, chaired by the former king, which reduced Najib's original 12-year sentence for the misappropriation of 42 million ringgit from SRC International—a former subsidiary of the 1MDB state fund—to six years. Najib contended that an accompanying addendum order from the monarchy authorized the remainder of his term to be served under house arrest, a claim he asserted was disregarded by state authorities. This assertion resulted in a legal bid that was denied by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on December 22. Beyond the immediate house arrest dispute, the broader legal context involves extensive convictions related to the 1MDB fund, established in 2009. Investigations by Malaysian and United States authorities estimate that approximately US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund, with over US$1 billion allegedly linked to Najib's accounts. In December, Najib received an additional 15-year sentence and a US$2.8 billion fine following a trial concerning money laundering and abuse of power. Regarding these allegations, Najib has maintained a consistent denial of criminal wrongdoing, although he has issued an apology for the mismanagement of the fund. The Attorney General's Chambers and legal representatives for the former premier have not provided further commentary on the recent withdrawal of the appeal.

Conclusion

The withdrawal of the appeal ensures that Najib Razak remains incarcerated at Kajang Prison, maintaining the current status of his sentence following multiple legal setbacks.

Vocabulary Learning

addendum (n.)

an additional document or section added to a main text附錄、增補文件

Example:The contract included an addendum detailing the new terms.

correspondence (n.)

written communication between parties通訊、書信往來

Example:The judge reviewed the correspondence between the parties.

discontinuance (n.)

the act of ceasing or stopping an action or process停止、終止

Example:The court accepted the petition for discontinuance of the lawsuit.

misappropriation (n.)

the illegal or wrongful use of funds or property非法挪用、濫用

Example:The investigation uncovered widespread misappropriation of public funds.

mismanagement (n.)

the failure to manage something properly, leading to problems管理失誤、失策

Example:The company's decline was attributed to years of mismanagement.

Sentence Learning

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has ceased legal efforts to transition from prison to home detention, following a court's rejection of his request.

Participial Phrase: The sentence uses a participial phrase 'following a court's rejection of his request' to provide background information, demonstrating how participial phrases can function as adverbial modifiers without a subject.分詞短語: 該句使用分詞短語「following a court's rejection of his request」作為背景說明，展示分詞短語如何作為副詞性修飾語使用，無需主語。

The legal proceedings concluded when the law firm Shafee & Co submitted a Notice for Discontinuance to the Court of Appeal on April 3.

Nominalization: The noun phrase 'Notice for Discontinuance' functions as a nominalized form of the action of discontinuing the appeal, illustrating how verbs can be converted into nouns to streamline complex legal terminology.名詞化: 名詞短語 'Notice for Discontinuance' 作為動詞 'to discontinue' 的名詞化形式，展示了如何將動詞轉化為名詞以簡化複雜的法律術語。

Najib contended that an accompanying addendum order from the monarchy authorized the remainder of his term to be served under house arrest, a claim he asserted was disregarded by state authorities.

Reduced Relative Clause: The clause 'a claim he asserted was disregarded by state authorities' is a reduced relative clause, omitting the relative pronoun 'that' and the verb 'was', which condenses the relative structure for conciseness.簡化關係子句: 子句 'a claim he asserted was disregarded by state authorities' 為簡化關係子句，省略了關係代詞 'that' 與動詞 'was'，使相對結構更簡潔。

Investigations by Malaysian and United States authorities estimate that approximately US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund, with over US$1 billion allegedly linked to Najib's accounts.

Prepositional Phrase with Reduced Relative Clause: The phrase 'with over US$1 billion allegedly linked to Najib's accounts' combines a prepositional phrase with a participial (reduced relative) clause, indicating an additional piece of information about the money.帶簡化關係子句的介詞短語: 片語 'with over US$1 billion allegedly linked to Najib's accounts' 結合介詞短語與分詞（簡化關係子句），提供有關金額的額外資訊。

The withdrawal of the appeal ensures that Najib Razak remains incarcerated at Kajang Prison, maintaining the current status of his sentence following multiple legal setbacks.

Complement Clause: The clause 'that Najib Razak remains incarcerated at Kajang Prison' serves as a complement clause introduced by 'ensures', showing how complement clauses can express the result of an action.賓語從句: 子句 'that Najib Razak remains incarcerated at Kajang Prison' 作為 'ensures' 的賓語從句，說明賓語從句如何表達行動的結果。