Malaysia’s ex-prime minister Najib Razak today successfully extended the release of his passport by two weeks.
It was slightly shorter than what the 68-year-old originally hoped for, to have his passport until Dec. 12. The acting leader of Malaysia’s biggest political party was granted an extension for his passport release so that he could stay back for the state election in Malacca, where citizens will go to the polls on Nov. 20.
The Malacca state assembly dissolved last month after four assemblymen withdrew support for former chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali.
Najib is overseeing the United Malays National Organization or UMNO, as party leader Zahid Hamidi flew to Germany on Saturday to seek treatment for his back pains. He will be back a day after the Malacca polls. Campaigning begins next week.
The court originally granted Najib access to his passport just days after doing the same for his wife, Birkin enthusiast Rosmah Mansor. The scandal-ridden couple, whose passports were seized in 2018 as they were slapped with graft and money-laundering charges linked to the looting of state funds, plan to visit their pregnant daughter Nooryana Najwa in Singapore, where she is expected to deliver her second child at a private hospital.
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