His announcement in tweets on his Twitter account, came after news broke last night about a private jet scheduled to leave for Indonesia at 10am with him and his wife Rosmah Mansor listed as passengers.
Media reports said that the Legacy 650 aircraft belongs to an Indonesian company owned by a tycoon with links to Najib and a deal with Felda. According to a flight-tracking web site, the aircraft had been scheduled to take off from Subang airport at noon yesterday.
Other media reports said that the passports of Najib and his wife might have been placed on an Immigration blacklist, and there was uncertainty about whether he would be able to leave.
Dozens of media staff have been waiting at Subang airport since 6am for his departure, which comes three days after he was voted out of office, and amidst warnings from leaders of the newly-elected Pakatan Harapan that he might face government action for his involvement in the 1MDB financial scandal.
In his tweets Najib said:
“After over four decades in politics and the recent election campaign, which was regrettably personal and perhaps the most intense in Malaysian history, I will take a short break to spend time with my family whom I have not seen enough of in recent years.
“My Barisan Nasional colleagues and I are committed to respecting the will of the people and facilitating a smooth transfer of power. The best interests of Malaysia and its people will always be my first priority and I intend to continue serving them in whatever capacity I can
“I pray that after this divisive period, the country will unite. I apologise for any shortcomings and mistakes, and I thank you, the people, for the opportunity to lead our great nation. It has been the honour of my lifetime to serve you and Malaysia.”