Asian Angle | Is Malaysia’s Mahathir gambling his legacy by taking on Najib?

In the Malay language, the phrase sakit hati means “pain in the heart”.

Sakit hati, both literal and figurative, summed up a day in the life of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad last week. He was in hospital for a heart-related ailment when his new political vehicle – Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia – was wheeled out. The new party is the outcome of the emotional heartache caused by current Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is mired in the scandal over the troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Mahathir retired as premier in 2003, after a record 22 years at the helm. He was also critical of his chosen successor, Abdullah Badawi, but it is against Najib that he has gone to full-frontal war.

The 1MDB debacle has cost Malaysia billions of dollars in lost funds, a battered currency and international humiliation. The latest assault has come from the United States Department of Justice, which is going after people close to Najib. Cronies have allegedly used the fund as their own personal kitty to buy penthouses, Monet and Van Gogh paintings and even anti-ageing treatments.

Mahathir takes swipe at Najib over Malaysia’s ‘stupid’ Chinese business deal

A vocal critic after the scandal surfaced, Mahathir attended a rally last year calling on the PM to resign. This March, he quit the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).