KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): The restrictions placed on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor by the Immigration Department were removed within hours Malaysiakini's reporting of the restriction.

Malaysiakini had earlier this morning reported that Najib and Rosmah had been blacklisted by the Immigration Department.

Subsequently, it said a check on the Immigration Department's Travel Status Enquiry System (SSPI) as at 9.18am using their IC numbers showed a change in status, now returning the results "Tiada halangan" (No obstacle) in green letters for both, indicating they were not blacklisted.

However, the portal said the database, which allows Malaysians to check if they are cleared to travel to East Malaysia or overseas, had been inaccessible since yesterday and until time of writing, 9.20am.

Malaysiakini said its investigation of the site found that it was only inaccessible from within Malaysia, thus giving the impression to those trying to access the site locally that it was "down".

“When contacted, Immigration Department director-general Mustafar Ali also stated that the duo was not currently blacklisted.

"Not blacklisted for now," he told Malaysiakini in a text message.

The online portal said he refused to elaborate when pressed for further information on why their statuses were initially different.

“This morning, Malaysiakini was able to access the immigration system using an overseas proxy to run the checks on Najib and Rosmah's identification numbers.

“The identification numbers were also cross-checked with the Election Commission's records to confirm their identities,” it said.