Najib and Rosmah immigration blacklist removed

UPDATED 9.20AM | Within hours of Malaysiakini's reporting that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor were blacklisted by the Immigration Department, the restrictions seemed to have been removed.

A check on the Immigration Department's Travel Status Enquiry System (SSPI) as at 9.18am using their IC numbers showed a change in status, now returning the results "Tiada halangan" (No obstacle) in green letters for both, indicating they were not blacklisted.

However, the database, which allows Malaysians to check if they are cleared to travel to East Malaysia or overseas, had been inaccessible since yesterday and until time of writing, 9.20am.

Malaysiakini's investigation of the site found that it was only inaccessible from within Malaysia, thus giving the impression to those trying to access the site locally that it was "down".

Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali also denied that the duo had been blacklisted.

"Not blacklisted for now," he told Malaysiakini in a text message when contacted. He refused to elaborate when pressed for further information on why their statuses were initially different. 

This morning, Malaysiakini was able to access the immigration system using an overseas proxy to run the checks on Najib and Rosmah's identification numbers.

The identification numbers were also cross-checked with the Election Commission's records to confirm their identities.

Checks conducted at 5.30am on Najib (530723-06-XXXX) and Rosmah (511210-05-XXXX) returned the results "Sila rujuk ke pejabat imigresen terdekat" (Please refer to the nearest immigration office) in red letters.

Below: Earlier search on Najib's MyKad number

This was the same results several Pakatan Harapan MPs and activists received in the past when they were barred from travel.

It is unclear if inaccessibility to the immigration portal from within Malaysia was due to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) or the Immigration Department setting its own website to prevent local access.

This essentially meant that Najib or Rosmah would not be able to check their immigration status unless a proxy is used.

The apparent blacklisting of the former prime minister and his wife came amid a leaked flight plan yesterday which showed that they planned to travel from Subang Airport to Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta at 10am today.

The couple is to travel on a private jet operated by Premiair.

Premiair is a company owned by Peter Sondakh, who is also the boss of PT Rajawali Corp.

Indonesian tycoon link

The Indonesian tycoon was involved in the controversial sale of a 37 percent stake in Eagle High Plantations to Felda for US$505.4 million last year.

Najib had been accused of receiving multi-billion ringgit in deposits in his personal bank account, which originated from state fund 1MDB, according to international investigations.

The former prime minister claimed the money was a "donation" from a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family. He denied wrongdoing or taking public funds for personal gain.

However, Najib's BN was dealt with a shock defeat against Pakatan Harapan in the 14th general election, winning only 79 seats in the 222-member Parliament in the May 9 general election.

The general election saw the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad making a comeback as the seventh prime minister and ending BN's 61-year rule.

The leaked flight plan had led to speculations that Najib and Rosmah were "fleeing" the country but a source close to the former prime minister claimed that they were only going on a "two-day break".

Earlier today, the Wall Street Journal, quoting sources close to Mahathir, said measures have been put in place to prevent Najib and Rosmah from leaving the country.

Malaysiakini also ran checks on several other key personalities in the 1MDB matter, including businessperson Low Taek Jho and 1MDB chairperson Irwan Serigar Abdullah.

None of them was blacklisted at the time of writing.

Below: Search on ex-prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor's MyKad number

Below: Search on 1MDB chairperson Irwan Serigar Abdullah's MyKad number

-Mkini