PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is serving his 12-year jail sentence at the Kajang Prison remains as a Umno potential candidate for the next general election (GE15).
The party Pekan division’s deputy head Zamri Ramly said there were no plans to place Najib’s children to contest the Pekan parliamentary seat if he is not eligible to contest.
“Instead, whoever is chosen for the seat will return it to Najib if he gets pardoned,” Zamri told Utusan Malaysia. However, he declined to reveal the other four names.
The former prime minister, who has been the Pekan MP since 1976, except for one term from 1982-1986 when he was the Menteri Besar of Pahang, is among the five candidates nominated by the division.
While he denied reports that Najib’s children, Nizar and Nooryana Najwa, would be nominated for the Pekan parliamentary seat, he said Nizar, who is the Pekan Umno Youth chief, has been nominated for a state seat in the constituency.
Pekan has been held by Najib’s family since 1959, first with Najib’s father, second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein, and then by Najib on Razak’s death, except for one term from 1982 to 1986 when Najib was the menteri besar.
Najib is serving a 12-year jail term for corruption in the SRC International case. He has filed for a review to overturn his conviction and has also sought a royal pardon.
In an FMT report on Tuesday, political analyst Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Najib may not be able to get a result in time to qualify as a candidate for GE15 as polling is likely to be held in early November.
