Malaysia’s scandal-ridden former leader Najib Razak was hit with a travel ban Saturday as speculation mounted he was about to flee the country following his shock election loss, in a possible bid to avoid prosecution over a massive financial scandal.
An angry crowd had gathered at a Kuala Lumpur airport, shouting at vehicles and seeking to stop them entering, after a flight plan leaked online showed Najib and his unpopular wife Rosmah Mansor were planning to fly to Indonesia.
The defeat of Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in last week’s poll by an alliance led by his one-time mentor Mahathir Mohamad was a political earthquake, which toppled an increasingly authoritarian regime that had ruled the country for six decades.
At 92, Mahathir is the world’s oldest state leader. He previously served as prime minister for over two decades and was himself accused of ruling with an iron fist.
Speculation had been mounting that Najib, who has been embroiled in a massive scandal related to state fund 1MDB, might try to flee the country as Mahathir has pledged to investigate the controversy.
As the image of the leaked manifest for a flight to Jakarta spread like wildfire online, Najib insisted in social media posts he was planning only a “short break” overseas to rest after the election and would be back next week.
But anger quickly mounted among social media users who accused the defeated leader of seeking to flee, and the immigration department swiftly announced both he and Rosmah were banned from leaving Malaysia.
“The immigration department has just now blacklisted Najib and Rosmah from leaving the country,” Mustafar Ali, director-general of the immigration department, told AFP.
Najib said in a tweet: “I have just been informed by the immigration department of Malaysia that my family and I are not allowed to go abroad. I respect the decision and I will remain in the country with my family.”
