Khairy: 'Bossku' Najib still influential in Umno behind prison bars

Despite his imprisonment, "Bossku" Najib Abdul Razak is still a force to be reckoned with in Umno, said Khairy Jamaluddin.

According to the former Umno Youth chief, this is evident in the fact that many of the party's supreme council members now are "loyal supporters" of the former prime minister.

"We have heard and read many analyses in the media that Wak Zahid (Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) is in control of Umno.

"Yes, we agree, it does seem like he is in control of the party. But if we look into it further, Zahid is strong but the supreme council comprises loyal supporters of 'Bossku'," the former health minister said in his 'Keluar Sekejap' podcast with former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan yesterday.

Khairy uploaded snippets of the session on his Twitter.

This shows that Najib still wielded power and influence that could charter Umno's direction in the future from behind prison bars, he added.

Khairy (above, left) cited the likes of Kelantan Umno chairperson-cum-Felcra chairperson Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub, former Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, and Hulu Langat Umno chief Johan Abd Aziz, as examples of Najib supporters who made it to the supreme council.

'Bossku's story far from over'

He further noted that Umno information chief Isham Jalil also made the list, along with another loyalist of the former Pekan MP, Lokman Adam, who was previously sacked from Umno by Zahid himself.

Given these facts, Khairy stressed that the "Bossku" story in Umno is far from over.

"'Bossku' is not finished, it is a force to be reckoned with. There are fingerprints of 'Bossku' in the supreme council.

"Thus, there are definitely expectations within 'Bossku's' supporters that something must be done by Zahid, and by extension, the government, regarding 'Bossku's' case."

Najib is currently serving 12 years in jail for corruption in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.

Elaborating, Khairy said Najib's conviction and imprisonment aside, the latter had better leadership qualities than Zahid.

'All good in the hood'

Meanwhile, in a social media post today, Khairy also took a swipe at the Court of Appeal's temporary release of Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor's passport.

"It's all good these days. Zahid TPM terpaling hebat. Convicted pun boleh dapat passport. All good in the hood. (...Zahid is the best DPM (deputy prime minister). Even a convicted (person) can get back passport...) he wrote on Instagram.

This was a caption to a news report on the Court of Appeal's decision yesterday to release Rosmah's passport to enable her to travel to Singapore to visit her daughter and grandson, who is unwell.

Rosmah's lawyer told the court that she would be leaving for Singapore on March 23 and will be in the republic for six weeks, as well as spend the Hari Raya celebration there, before returning on May 5.

Rosmah’s passport was impounded by the court in 2019 after she was charged with corruption.

On Sept 1 last year, then Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan (now Court of Appeal judge) found Rosmah guilty of three corruption charges involving RM1.25 billion in connection with a hybrid solar project for schools in Sarawak.

Rosmah, 71, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on each charge to be served concurrently, which means she will only serve 10 years in jail. She was also fined RM970 million, in default of 30 years in jail.

She was accused of one count of soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving bribes totalling RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings former managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin.

The High Court, however, granted Rosmah a stay of execution of the prison sentence and fine pending her appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Rosmah’s appeal against her conviction, 10 years imprisonment, and RM970 million fine for corruption involving the hybrid solar project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak is fixed for hearing at the Court of Appeal for four days beginning July 11.

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