Malaysia: Scandal-hit former PM Najib, wife banned from leaving country
The scandal-hit former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have today been banned from leaving the country, the immigration chief said, after the shock election loss of Najib's coalition. "The immigration department has just now blacklisted Najib and Rosmah from leaving the country," Mustafar Ali, said the Director-General of the Immigration Department of Malaysia. Here's more.
In a tweet, Najib said: "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."
The travel ban came as speculation mounted that Najib and Rosmah, a hugely unpopular figure due to her reported love of luxury shopping trips, were about to leave for Indonesia. Najib earlier tweeted he was going to take a "short break". An angry crowd descended on an airport near Kuala Lumpur, where the couple was expected to leave from, to stop them from departing.
After Najib's defeat, speculation mounted the pair might flee Malaysia as former strongman premier Mahathir Mohamad, who beat him in the elections, has pledged to probe a massive scandal in which Najib is implicated concerning the theft of billions of dollars of state funds.
