KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — After a brief period of relative quiet, the Facebook account belonging to disgraced former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has come alive again since Parliament was dissolved on October 10.
While the 69-year-old is serving time in Kajang prison and making occasional appearances in court for other cases related to his 1MDB charges, a virtual Najib has been actively campaigning for Umno with regular social media posts some four to five times a day.
Take yesterday for example. There were two posts even before lunch time in which he took a potshot at political rivals in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition by refencing a Berita Harian news report on Thursday day headlined in Malay “GE15: Anwar ready to work with Tun M, Muhyiddin as long as on same principles”.
“PH has made repeated U-turns so many times, issuing conflicting statements and holding daily meetings without reaching a decision?
“If it’s an easy matter to dissolve the state assemblies and hold state elections concurrent with GE15 or if still undecided, how will PH run the country to face the global economic crisis next year?” he posed.
Earlier in the morning, he took a swipe at former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, mocking the latter’s recent video explanation on defending the Langkawi parliamentary seat in the coming general election.
“His latest video.
“So noble. To serve, he said.
“Purportedly because the sale is not over,” he trolled.
On October 12, the Najib Razak page carried an announcement for a fantasy football league, calling on Malaysians to “unite through fantasy football”, and to join the “Bossku” private league.
It is unclear as to who exactly is posting the updates on the Najib Razak Facebook page, but it appears to remain popular and the Umno politician’s followers interact there as if they are conversing directly with him.
Take this Malay comment from a user called Jebat Ahmad for example that translated into English reads:
“When Bossku does not have a legacy, the effect is that there seems to be no one who is capable of continuing big agendas for the country and the people which are good. Hope Datuk Seri Najib will make a comeback or at least become an advisor to the government to continue the stalled agenda.”
Another user by the name Rahim Rahim posted in the Najib Razak Facebook page: “Thank God the prison authority allows Datuk Seri to use a phone”.
It is also unclear how impactful this will have on the election campaign going forward as Najib the convict will not be listed on the ballot paper for GE15 although the Pekan Umno division is keeping his name as a potential contestant.
Prior to his jailing and after BN's defeat in the 14th general election, Najib managed to turn his tarnished reputation around by rebranding himself as being in tune with the working class and speaking their language.
His “Bossku” moniker was appropriated from the lexicon of “rempit” youths, which itself came from middle-class Sabahans.
It became so associated with Najib that even his political foes would refer to him by that instead of his real name.
The senior party leadership has been relatively quiet about associating the Umno and Barisan Nasional campaign with Najib.
After all, the “Bossku” was sent to jail after the Federal Court upheld his conviction, 12-year prison sentence and a RM210 million fine on August 23, after finding him guilty of misappropriating funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, amounting to RM42 million.
But for now, the virtual Najib is still batting for Umno.
