Najib Abdul Razak is both emotionally and physically scarred by the death of parliamentarian Jamaluddin Jarjis, veteran newsman A Kadir Jasin said in his blog today.

Kadir said he based this on the observations made by those who know the prime minister.

Kadir also does not believe that Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor will fill the void left by Jamaluddin, who is fondly known as "JJ".

"I think it will be hard for Najib to find a replacament as similar as Jamaluddin ( left )," he said.

Citing a "friend" of Jamaluddin, Kadir wrote on the "significant impact" the tragic death had on the administration of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"More so since the prime minister's principal private secretary Azlin Alias was also killed. Jamaluddin and Azlin were inseparable.

"Apart from holding the key to the election machinery and Najib's branding, Jamaluddin was known to have played an important role in the prime minister's political funding," Kadir said.

Commenting on the closeness between Najib and Jamaluddin based on his discussions with Jamaluddin's friend and other sources, Kadir further concluded that JJ was the strategist, adviser and the Najib's number one family friend.

'JJ formulated Najib's branding'

"He was the one who formulated the prime minister's branding, which produced an American presidential style utilised by Najib.

"That makes him the chief of staff. When Agence France-Presse (AFP) in its report cited him as chief of staff, I think it is only apt for him to be called that, even though the position does not exist in the nomenclature of the Public Services Department," Kadir said.

Jamaluddin, who was Malaysia's envoy to the US from 2009 to 2012, was also the man behind Najib's 2013 general election campaign.

Slogans such as "I Love PM" and "Support me, vote for BN", as well as the use of Facebook and Twitter to promote Najib were all Jamaluddin's handiwork.

Although BN nearly lost in the last general election, no one pointed fingers at Jamaluddin for it.

"Instead, he became more influential and revered by Najib as well as feared by those around the prime minister. Even the party Umno was said to have listened to him," said Kadir.

Jamaluddin, together with five others, were killed when a helicopter carrying them crashed into a rubber plantation in Semenyih.

The victims were then returning from Najib's daughter's wedding reception in Pekan, Pahang.

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