KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he will decide on his position as head of Umno and the coalition after returning from a short break abroad.
The former prime minister said he and his family will be taking a rest outside Malaysia from today and will mull over the BN’s loss of public support in the recently-concluded 14th general election.
“As soon as I return home next week, I will announce my decision and my plans for the future,” he said in a new posting on his Facebook page.
The Umno president urged party and BN coalition members to stay calm and be stalwart in the face of the current political adversity.
“I am confident Umno and Barisan Nasional can return stronger because we have proven our capability to serve Malaysians these past 60 years,” he added.
Najib led the Malay nationalist party founded by his grandfather Datuk Onn Jaafar and the BN coalition to their worst performance ever in the 14th general election.
The coalition won only 79 parliamentary seats in the May 9 polls. Since then, three Sabah parties have also quit BN, switching their allegiances to the Parti Warisan Sabah-Pakatan Harapan pact.
The beleaguered Najib, hounded by allegations of fund misappropriation from sovereign investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, and Rosmah were previously reported to be scheduled to fly to Jakarta, Indonesia at 10am today.
However, the flight was later cancelled after a group of roughly 100 people turned up at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang Jaya, Selangor to bar Najib and his wife from leaving the country.
The couple have been blacklisted from travelling abroad.
