KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — The High Court has fixed October 14 to hear former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s application to stay the execution of his 15-year prison sentence and RM11.38 billion fine in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case.

The Edge reported that Najib is seeking the stay until all avenues of appeal in the criminal case have been exhausted.

Najib arrived at the High Court here at 8.30am today from Kajang Prison, wearing a light grey suit and white shirt and accompanied by prison department personnel, according to an earlier report by Harian Metro.

The application will be heard before Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin, according to a check of the judiciary’s website.

It was filed nine months after then trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah delivered his decision on December 26 last year.

Sequerah, who is now a Federal Court judge, sentenced Najib to 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay a RM11.38 billion fine for four charges of abusing his position to obtain RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.

He also ordered Najib to serve an additional 10 years in prison if he fails to pay the fine, while the former prime minister was ordered to pay a recoverable sum of RM2.081 billion.

The 15-year sentence is scheduled to begin in August 2028, after Najib completes his reduced prison term in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

The application for a stay comes after the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced on September 18 that Najib could serve the remainder of his reduced SRC sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, subject to conditions including payment of a RM50 million fine.

Najib is understood to have yet to pay the RM50 million, while the Attorney General has yet to announce specific guidelines for the proposed house arrest, as Malaysia currently has no laws governing house arrest.

In the SRC case, the court had upheld Najib’s conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, together with his 12-year prison sentence and RM210 million fine.

The Pardons Board under the then King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah reduced the sentence to six years and the fine to RM50 million in 2024.

Ordinarily, a stay of execution would be sought immediately following a court decision.