KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he will be taking a “short break” from politics to spend time with family as he had not done in recent years.

Rumours suggesting he was fleeing the country following his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s humiliating defeat in the 14th general election spread after his name and that of his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, were reportedly spotted on the flight manifest of a Jakarta-bound private jet scheduled for 10am today.

“After over four decades in politics and the recent election campaign, which was regrettably personal and perhaps the most intense in Malaysian history, I will take a short break to spend time with my family whom I have not seen enough of in recent years,” Najib tweeted at 7.30am.

In two additional posts, Najib said he and his BN colleagues are “committed to respecting the will of the people and facilitating a smooth transfer of power”.

“The best interests of Malaysia and its people will always be my first priority and I intend to continue serving them in whatever capacity I can,” he added.

The beleaguered Pekan MP who remains hounded by the 1Malaysia Development fund misappropriation scandal then apologised for his shortcomings and mistakes and thanked Malaysians for giving him the chance to lead the country.

“It has been the honour of my lifetime to serve you and Malaysia,” he said.

Najib and Rosmah are scheduled to be flying out of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang Jaya, Selangor at 10am on a private jet operated by Premiair and owned by Indonesia’s 14th richest man and head of PT Rajawali Corp, Tan Sri Peter Sondakh, Malaysiakini reported.

Najib turned up for a prayer session at the Putra World Trade Centre here last night to mark Umno’s 72nd anniversary, but did not address the press then. The mood over the entire gathering was sombre two days after its shocking defeat in the May 9 polls.

The Umno-led BN coalition has been toppled from power for the first time in the country’s history. It has also been losing component parties in Sabah, where a power struggle has emerged for control of the resource-rich state.

Najib’s former mentor turned critic, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who now chairs the Pakatan Harapan alliance, has returned as the seventh prime minister and has been furiously engaged in making institutional changes.

Dr Mahathir, the world’s oldest democratically elected leader at age 92, is scheduled to announce the members of his federal Cabinet later today.