KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here today allowed for amendments to be made on the dates for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s temporary passport release to facilitate his trip to Singapore for the birth of his grandchild.
Previously, the Court of Appeal allowed the Pekan MP and former prime minister to access his passport temporarily, from October 20 to November 22.
In the proceedings today, the application to amend the temporary release date of his passport, spanning October 25 until December 6, was allowed by three separate judges – Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, and Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin.
Najib sought to amend the dates in order to allow him to assist Umno’s election machinery in the Melaka polls scheduled for November 20 before crossing the causeway to the island republic.
The former Umno president said he has been entrusted to ensure that all operations within the party run smoothly and accordingly, following the departure of current party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to Germany for medical treatment.
On the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) legal proceedings, Najib’s lead defence counsel Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah gave assurance that the affected dates will be replaced with new ones.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul did not object to the amendment application.
Meanwhile, Sequerah, who is hearing Najib’s trial involving over RM2 billion in 1MDB funds, also granted the application for proceedings scheduled from November 9 to 11 to take place before Najib travels to Singapore on November 21.
DPP Mustafa P. Kunyalam did not object to the application before the judge.
In a separate courtroom, high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin allowed Najib’s application for his passport to be temporarily released during those said dates. DPP Shafiq Hasim did not object.
It was reported that Najib filed for the temporary return of his passport at the Court of Appeal on October 15.
On October 18, the court allowed him to access his passport temporarily to facilitate his trip to Singapore for the birth of his grandchild.
The prosecution did not object to his application, which was approved by the three-judge quorum led by Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, with Datuk P. Ravinthran and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.
The court previously held his passport while hearing his bid to quash his conviction and sentencing in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case.
In a related news, Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor also received similar approval by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on October 15 to welcome the birth of their grandchild in Singapore.
Rosmah had applied on the basis that she wanted to provide moral and mental support to daughter Nooryana Najwa.
She added that Nooryana has a history of complications during delivery, and that she wanted to be there to provide assistance and emotional support.
Nooryana married her husband Daniyar Kessikbayev in 2015 and is currently living in the island republic.
Kessikbayev is the nephew of former Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled the country for almost 30 years before stepping down in March 2019.
Rosmah’s passport was impounded when she was charged with soliciting RM187.5 million, as well as with two counts of receiving RM6.5 million in bribes. – The Vibes, October 26, 2021
