KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has not ruled out seeking re-election to parliament within the next two years, he told Reuters in an interview, undeterred by a corruption conviction that would block him from running.
Najib’s graft-tainted party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), clinched the premiership last month after it was ousted from power three years ago over a multibillion-dollar scandal. Opponents had expressed fears that party leaders facing charges could secure leniency once back in control.
Najib, who served as premier for nine years until 2018, was found guilty of corruption last year and sentenced to 12 years in jail over one of many cases over the misappropriation of funds from now-defunct state fund 1MDB. He has denied wrongdoing and has appealed the verdict.
He is still a member of parliament but the constitution bars him from contesting elections unless he gets a pardon or a reprieve from the country’s monarch.
But speaking to Reuters on Saturday, Najib challenged his disqualification saying: “It is subject to interpretation.”
“It depends on interpretation in terms of the law, the constitution and whatever happens in court proceedings,” Najib said.
Asked if he would contest the next elections due by 2023, he said: “Any politician who would want to play a role would want a seat in parliament.”
Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak may seek re-election to parliament despite conviction
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Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak may seek re-election to parliament despite conviction
- Najib Razak, who served as premier for nine years until 2018, was found guilty of corruption last year
Nearly 540 migrants rescued off Crete
- Under standard EU procedure, all will undergo health checks before having their asylum claims processed
ATHENS: Nearly 540 migrants crammed on a sailing boat were rescued on Friday south of the island of Crete, the Greek Coast
Guard said.
The 539 would-be asylum seekers were rescued by a patrol vessel of EU border agency Frontex near the small island of Gavdos in the Libyan Sea, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
So far, the Coast Guard has recorded nationals from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and the Palestinian territories aboard the boat, the spokeswoman said.
BACKGROUND
The 539 would-be asylum seekers will first be taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno.
They will first be taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno, she added.
Under standard EU procedure, all will undergo health checks before having their asylum claims processed.
The port they had sailed out from was not immediately clear, the spokeswoman said.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the EU.
