Najib asks court for passport release too to be with expectant daughter in Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has also applied to the courts for his passport to be temporarily released, to enable him to go to Singapore where his daughter Nooryana Najwa is expected to give birth soon.

Najib’s lawyer Nur Syahirah Hanapiah told Malay Mail when contacted that her client had filed the application yesterday, and also confirmed that the Court of Appeal would be hearing the application next Monday.

On Tuesday, Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor had also applied for her passport to be temporarily released for more than a month in order to be travel out of the country to be with her daughter Nooryana in Singapore.

Earlier today, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur allowed Rosmah’s application, ordering for the passport to be released today to Rosmah and for it to be returned by December 6.

The judge had also said the passport release carries the condition of Rosmah being permitted to leave for Singapore from October 22 and that she must return to Malaysia by November 21.

In her application, Rosmah had said Nooryana has a history of complications during delivery, and that she needs to be with Nooryana before, during and after the upcoming delivery of a second child in Singapore to provide assistance, care and emotional support.

Nooryana and her Kazakhstan husband Daniyar Kessikbayev currently live in Singapore.

Kessikbayev is the nephew of former Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down from office in March 2019 after nearly 30 years in power.

Rosmah only had to make one application for her passport’s temporary return as the High Court judge hearing both her corruption trial and her money-laundering trial is the same judge.

In comparison, former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had to apply separately to two High Court judges hearing his two different ongoing trials, to ask for his passport to be temporarily released to seek medical treatment in Germany for his neck and back pain.

After both judges allowed his application on Monday, Ahmad Zahid will now be able to fly to Germany for the medical treatment, with the passport release period from the courts being October 26 to November 21.

As for Najib, he is facing five criminal trials, with two of them yet to begin.

For the first criminal case involving RM42 million of former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd, the High Court had in July 2020 found Najib to be guilty of all seven charges — criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering — and had imposed on him jail sentences as well as a RM210 million fine.

Najib had appealed against both his conviction and sentencing in the SRC International case, with the Court of Appeal having on May 18, 2021 concluded the hearing of the appeal and yet to deliver its decision on the appeal.

Najib also has an ongoing trial in relation to four power abuse charges and 21 money laundering charges in relation to more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds, with this case being heard before High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Najib also has another ongoing trial involving his alleged abuse of position as prime minister and finance minister in February 2016 by instructing for amendments in the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB before it was presented to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to avoid any civil or criminal action, with this case being heard before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.