COMMENT | All eyes are on Malaysia awaiting the decision of former prime minister’s first 1MDB trial tomorrow. The focus is on whether former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak will be held accountable for the world’s largest kleptocracy scandal. This decision has important implications for accountability, corruption and abuses of power the world over. Most ordinary Malaysians are hoping justice will be served.
For those in Malaysia’s longest-governing party Umno, however, attention centres on whether the hold Najib has over the party since he became prime minister in 2009 will continue. At stake is not only the party leadership, but the political trajectory for the country’s leadership. In 2016, with my academic colleagues John Funston, Clive Kessler and James Chin, I wrote a book entitled ‘The End of Umno?’ laying out a series of arguments on the decline of the party. The book was updated in an expanded version in 2018 after GE14.
Tomorrow’s decision will shape whether Najib’s control over Umno will continue, it will determine who will lead in the Malay leadership battle. If he walks out of court a free man, given his resource advantages , Najib will be in a position to potentially return not only to the party’s leadership helm, but to office in Putrajaya.
Najib – not opposition leaders Mahathir or Anwar Ibrahim – is currently Muhyiddin’s most serious political competitor for national leadership. If Najib is convicted, he will begin an appeal process that will likely put him out of contention for the next general elections and weaken his hold on Umno, having to rely on proxies for...
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Ali Hamsa denies threatening Auditor-General Ambrin to get 1MDB audit report changed | Malay MailKUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Tan Sri Ali Hamsa said he never threatened then auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang into amending or removing content from the National Audit Department’s 2016 audit report of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the High Court heard today. Ali, who was the chief...
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Malaysia faces crucial graft test as Najib’s first 1MDB verdict loomsNajib will hear the verdict on seven charges he faces over receiving RM42 million from SRC International in 2014.
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