Rosmah Mansor says she knows nothing about RM50 million fine payment for Najib's house arrest
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Rosmah Mansor denied any knowledge of arrangements to pay the RM50 million fine that would let former prime minister Najib Razak serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest, while questions continue to swirl around elite favoritism, opaque fundraising, and the public cost of political privilege.
Kuala Lumpur, Nov 6 – Rosmah Mansor told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur courts complex that she was unaware of any plans to settle the RM50 million fine required for former prime minister Najib Razak to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
"I do not know. You all know better," she said, adding that the family had not been informed about any payment developments, even as public attention remains fixed on how the wealthy and well-connected move through a justice system that often appears to bend around them.
Her remarks followed a hearing on her request to introduce new evidence in a solar-hybrid corruption case. Reporters showed her a Malay-language newspaper report that two individuals, described as Najib's representatives, had visited the court’s payment counter that morning. When asked who they were, Rosmah said the media "always know better and then after that they retract," a response that did little to dispel the fog around the matter.
Rosmah also distanced herself from UMNO’s crowdfunding drive to raise the RM50 million, directing questions to party secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. Asyraf Wajdi said on Wednesday that Najib was not preparing to pay and that the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund, launched on September 18, had not yet reached its target, declining to disclose the amount collected despite the obvious public interest in where such money is coming from and why.
Lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he had received no instructions from Najib to settle the fine. Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar confirmed on Sunday that the fine remains unpaid and that no deadline has been set.
Sultan Ibrahim granted Najib a conditional pardon on September 18, allowing him to serve the remainder of his term under house arrest until August 23, 2028, provided the fine and other conditions are met. Najib has been detained at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International. His original sentence of 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine was reduced in January 2024 to six years and RM50 million.