WITH corruption and money laundering charges against him, Najib Razak should not be allowed to campaign for Barisan Nasional in upcoming by-elections, said former minister Johari Abdul Ghani.

The former Titiwangsa MP questioned Umno’s move to let the ex-prime minister campaign for its candidate in the recent Sungai Kandis by-election, which it lost to PKR by nearly 6,000 votes.

He said it was unwise to have allowed Najib on the campaign trail, given the charges against him and the scandal in which he is implicated.

“In view of the charges, and the perception of corruption as well as criminal breach of trust, against him, was it a good strategy for Umno to have allowed him to campaign?

“Shouldn’t Umno let him rest instead of joining the campaign for the upcoming by-elections?

“We need to remember that Umno doesn’t campaign only to its members (in the seat), but also (other) voters, and the perception of corruption can determine whether we win or lose,” Johari said in a statement today.

The by-elections for the Seri Setia and Balakong state seats in Selangor will be held on September 8, after a 21-day campaign period.

Johari, who is also Titiwangsa Umno division chief, ran for a vice-president’s post in the June party polls, but lost.

The Sungai Kandis by-election last Saturday had a 14-day campaign period. Najib was on the campaign trail for two days to stump for Umno candidate Lokman Noor Adam.

The former Umno president accompanied Lokman at meet-the-people sessions and on walkabouts to canvass for votes, as well as to the mosque for prayers and during a visit to the sick.

However, Najib was a no-show at a July 25 ceramah, where he had been scheduled to speak.

In Sungai Kandis, BN got some 2,000 fewer votes than it did in the May 9 general election. The turnout for the by-election was also much lower, with only 49.4% of voters going to the polls.

Earlier today, Najib was slapped with three charges of money laundering in relation to RM42 million that went into his personal accounts from a former 1Malaysia Development Bhd subsidiary.

The charges are in addition to four earlier ones from last month – three counts of criminal breach of trust, and one count of abuse of power.

Johari said some in Umno feel that Najib should be allowed to be active in the party as DAP’s Lim Guan Eng, too, is facing corruption charges while actively working as finance minister.

However, he said, Umno must set its own standards to show that it has integrity, so as to regain the public’s trust.

“My stand is that we don’t need to follow DAP. Umno should have its own benchmarks, and we need to make this the starting point, whereby we prioritise the integrity and credibility of our leaders.

“(We should show) that Umno is a party that has higher standards than DAP.”

Two years ago, Lim claimed trial to a charge in relation to a bungalow purchase in Penang, where he was previously chief minister, and a charge relating to a land title conversion case for a company.

The DAP secretary-general’s counsel has sought to have the charges against him dropped after Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya. His case has been fixed for September 3, when the Attorney-General’s Chambers will decide whether to proceed. – August 8, 2018.