Nazifuddin, who is the Langkawi Umno chief, said the supporters were Malaysians who respected Najib for his immense contributions to their lives during his nine years as prime minister.

He said his father was sorely missed by many.

Speaking at a pro-Najib event at the Melawati convention centre in Ampang last night, he said members of PAS, Umno and Bersatu would come together to fight for Najib’s freedom.

“I was told that 118 buses of Umno supporters and 100 of PAS supporters will be there. So come (to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya) on Jan 6 to see the people who love and support Najib,” he said.

Nazifuddin said the unity government had a trust deficit with Najib supporters due to the apparent lack of justice for the former Umno president.

The rally is being held on the day the Court of Appeal will hear Najib’s application for leave to adduce fresh evidence in his appeal to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest, which he claims was issued in a supplementary order to the Pardons Board’s Feb 2 announcement.

Najib had previously said the pardons board had omitted to announce the terms of the supplementary order and that the government was in contempt for not complying with it.

The former Pekan MP is currently serving a six-year prison sentence, halved by the pardons board from the initial 12 years, following his conviction in the SRC International case.