Malaysia’s scandal-ridden ex-prime minister Najib Razak is now seeking to postpone his Singapore trip until after the Malacca state election ends.
The 68-year-old acting leader of Malaysia’s biggest political party said he wants to stay behind and supervise his members during the election, which was called on the same day the court granted him temporary access to his passport for a month starting Wednesday so he could welcome his soon-to-be born grandchild in Singapore. Najib is now asking for his passport access to be pushed to the period between Oct. 25 and Dec. 12.
“Since UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will be away in Germany for medical reasons, I have been entrusted with the responsibility to ensure that UMNO acts in an orderly and appropriate manner during the Melaka state election,” the convicted politician, and former party president, said in his affidavit. “Therefore, I have to postpone my trip to Singapore until after the state election on Nov 20.”
Zahid Hamidi, who is the reigning president of the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, is flying to Germany for back and neck pain treatment.
Malacca residents are due to cast their ballots on Nov. 20, after roughly two weeks of campaigning starting Nov. 8. The Malacca state assembly dissolved early this month after four assemblymen withdrew support for chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali.
The court had granted him access to his passport just days after doing the same for his wife, Birkin enthusiast Rosmah Mansor. It would be their first time seeing their passports since they were seized in 2018, when a slew of charges including corruption and money laundering were laid against them.
The couple plan to visit their pregnant daughter Nooryana Najwa, who is due to deliver her second child at a private hospital in Singapore.
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