KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s national palace said Saturday that the royal decision allowing imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest was clear and must be respected, warning that attempts to challenge it amounted to defying the king.

The palace statement came a day after the attorney general temporarily blockedNajib’s transfer from prison to house arrest, saying more legal clarification was needed.

Najib had left the prison Friday, after his political party paid a 50 million ringgit ($12.3 million) fine required under the terms of a royal pardon that would see him serve the remainder of his graft sentence at home. But he was brought back to prison hours later, following the attorney-general’s intervention.

Najib has been imprisoned since August 2022, when Malaysia’s top court upheld his conviction in his first graft trial linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of state investment fund 1MDB.…