KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Datuk Seri Najib Razak has resigned as chairman for former ruling party Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno president with immediate effect.

Annnouncing his decision at PWTC today, Najib said the decision was made based on "moral obligation" after BN suffered a massive first-time loss at the federal level in GE14 last Wednesday.

"Whoever leads a political party and fails during general elections will need to fully accept the moral obligation.

"I accept it with an open heart," he said, adding that he will remain an Umno member and a loyal supporter to the party.

"This is the chance for the party to work on its weaknesses. Even though [the outcome of GE14] centres around [public] perception more than reality, but the name of the game is whoever wins the perception game will garner the support of the rakyat," he said. 

Moving on, Najib elaborated that Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will take over his duties as the chairman of Umno and BN, while Datuk Seri Hishammudin Tum Hussein will serve as Zahid's deputy in both organisations.

"The Women, Youth and Puteri wings have given their full support on this matter. God willing, Umno will live on," he said.

Both were present with Najib during the press conference, alongside Umno secretary general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Najib also thanked his supporters who entrusted him as a leader  and urged them to retain their confidence towards the party.

As Umno goes through the power transition, the question remains whether Umno will stand behind Najib with the possibility of getting put into the limelight for alleged corruption cases during his tenure as Malaysia's sixth Prime Minister.

Earlier, it was reported that Najib and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor were leaving to Indonesia for a two-day holiday.

Howeber, the Immigration Department then announced that it has blacklisted the duo from leaving the country, which was later acknowledged by Najib on Twitter.

Najib was largely blamed for the downfall of Umno and Barisan Nasional in GE14, which saw the coalition losing power at the federal level for the very first time.

Najib was central in scandals including corruption and breach of trust in managing the nation's finances under projects such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd, from which funds were allegedly siphoned partly for personal spending.

Malaysia's seventh prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad, who led political coalition Pakatan Harapan to triumph against BN on Wednesday, vouched to reopen investigation on the cases such as 1MDB as well as to investigare  agencies believed to have "committed known corrupt acts" such as the MACC, the EC and the Attorney General.

It is understood that the MACC and the AG has cleared Najib from any wrongdoings in cases which implicated him, while the EC has been accused of acting unconstitutionally during the electoral boundary redelineation process as well as delaying the vote counting process during GE14.