Najib will not be released for campaigning during general election: Malaysia's prisons department

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will not be allowed to go out to campaign during the upcoming general elections as long as he is still serving his jail sentence, said the director of prisons department Nordin Muhammad on Tuesday (Oct 11).

“The situation and regulations are still the same...So long as he is still serving the sentence in prison, he is subject to the Prisons Act and regulations,” Mr Nordin told the media at the launching of an event at the Malaysian Prisons headquarters in Kajang. 

He was commenting on the stand of the Prisons Department if there was an application from Najib’s supporters to give special permission to the Pekan MP to campaign in GE15.

However, Mr Nordin said that apart from the application for Najib to attend parliament sitting which was rejected, the department has not received any other applications from the former prime minister.

Last week, Najib’s lawyer filed a lawsuit against Malaysia's home minister and the commissioner-general of prison after the prisons department rejected his request to attend the new sessions of parliament before it was dissolved on Monday.  

Mr Nordin said that Najib is not receiving any special treatment since he was sentenced to jail last August, as alleged by some quarters.

He said that Najib, just like other prisoners, is also subject to the Prisons Act and its regulations apart from the department’s stipulated standard operating procedure.

“We give the same treatment to all inmates here and there is no such term as favouritism among prisoners here,” said Mr Nordin as quoted by Bernama. 

Najib is now serving a 12-year-jail sentence when the Federal Court upheld on Aug 23 his conviction and sentence after he was found guilty in a corruption case involving a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) unit, SRC International. 

Last month, the prisons department denied rumours that Najib was given special treatment while serving his sentence, after a screenshot of a message went viral on social media alleging that he has not been housed in a jail cell. 

Former Malaysian health minister Khairy Jamaluddin also denied that Najib received special treatment when he was hospitalised at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) for a series of treatments and tests last month.