Najib, who was Pekan MP, is serving 12 years in jail after the Federal Court upheld his conviction and sentence by the High Court in a corruption case involving a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) unit, SRC International.
The prions department said on Oct 11 that Najib will not be allowed to go out to campaign during this year’s general election as long as he is still serving his sentence.
In August, it also denied rumours that Najib was given special treatment while serving his sentence, after a screenshot of a message went viral on social media alleging that he has not been housed in a jail cell.
The video on TV1, featuring aerial shots of Pekan, shows Najib sitting in a chair and promoting the city as an educational, royal and historical institution.
A narrator says the city has produced two prime ministers – Najib and his father Tun Abdul Razak Hussein – as pictures of their family and Najib serving the community are shown.
Najib’s eldest son Nizar also features in the video, amid speculation that he could run as Barisan Nasional’s Pekan candidate in the upcoming polls. Malaysian media, however, have said no decision has been made.
Netizens were not impressed with the RTM segment, with one of them, @The_Mamu said on Twitter that Najib still appeared to be campaigning and did not seem to be in prison. The post has been retweeted more than 7,000 times.
The prisons department said people should not spread information without verifying it first. “Legal action could be taken against irresponsible people,” it stated.