KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — Former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib is expected to contest for a position in Puteri Umno in the party’s upcoming elections, Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi said.
Puad, who is both Rengit state assemblyman and the Johor state legislative assembly’s Speaker, said this in a Facebook post featuring a group photo that included him and Nooryana Najwa.
“Today, Yana Najib came to visit me at my office, the Rengit ADUN Service Centre at Taman Rengit. She came with Dr Masliha, candidate for the Puteri Umno Malaysia chief. Yana will contest for exco of Puteri Umno Malaysia. All the best,” he said in the Facebook post.
Puad was referring to Nooryana Najwa by her moniker Yana Najib, and Puteri Umno exco member Dr Masliha Harun.
Puteri Umno is currently headed by Datuk Zahida Zarik Khan.
According to Umno’s official website, the Puteri Umno wing was launched 22 years ago in 2001, with membership of this wing limited to Malaysian women of Bumiputera status aged 18 to 35 years old, except for the Puteri Umno chief who can be aged up to 40 years old.
The process of registering candidates for Umno’s internal party elections — including for division posts and posts in the party’s wings — this year will take place from today until February 26.
Since former prime minister Najib’s jailing on August 23 last year over the misappropriation of RM42 million of government-owned SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds, Nooryana Najwa has publicly spoken up for and on behalf of her father and insisted that he is innocent.
Both Nooryana Najwa and her brother and Pekan Umno Youth chief Datuk Mohd Nizar Najib spoke about Najib when they attended the Umno president’s special message last August 27 to party members.
Nooryana Najwa also attended the Umno annual general assembly which was held last month.
Following Najib’s jailing, Nooryana Najwa has been regularly spotted in the court complex in Kuala Lumpur to attend other ongoing trials faced by her father — including over the misappropriation of RM2.28 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) funds.
