Who is najib razak

The court on Monday allowed Najib to retrieve his passport from Oct. A prosecutor in Najib's case confirmed the reports to Reuters. His lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lower court last week granted a similar request from Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, who is also facing graft charges , media reported.

Dozens of charges were filed against Najib and Rosmah following the election, after police raids found millions of dollars worth of cash, jewellery and luxury handbags in the couple's homes.

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Universiti Malaya sociopolitical analyst Awang Azman Pawi said: "If Najib is cleared of all charges, he will get the chance to prove he is clean, and he will use it as part of his campaign to say that he is not guilty, and that other parties wanted to sabotage and destroy his political career. However, University of Tasmania's Asia Institute director James Chin said: "Because of all these charges against him, the only way to protect himself, and also his family, is to be politically powerful.

Najib has himself indicated in an interview with Reuters last month that he will seek re-election to Parliament. It was reported by The Star daily last month that there is a "gentlemen's agreement" between Najib and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on a "division of labour".

Najib will run Malaysia's largest party Umno if he wins the party presidency, while Datuk Seri Ismail runs the country. The courts recently approved the return of his and his wife Rosmah Mansor's passports for them to attend the birth of his grandchild in Singapore.

He has also filed a suit against former attorney-general Tommy Thomas for alleged abuse of power in prosecuting him in several cases. Meanwhile, a multibillion-ringgit pipeline project of his in Sabah that was scrapped by the Pakatan Harapan administration in for making questionable payments has been revived this year.

Some observers say Najib is accepted by the various factions in Umno, which is why he is spearheading the party's campaign for the Melaka state election next month. Segments of the Malay population who support Najib, said Prof Chin, believe that the charges against him were trumped up and "a political hatchet job". Join ST's Telegram channel here and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. We have been experiencing some problems with subscriber log-ins and apologise for the inconvenience caused.