The Malaysian economy is turning. Will Najib’s luck?
Just when it looked like 1MDB allegations would sink the premier, he heads into the ruling party’s final conference with a strengthened hand
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will not have to dig too deep to rally rank-and-file members of his ruling party when they convene next week for a final annual conference before the watershed general election expected early next year.
Once buffeted by scandal, the premier goes into the latest edition of the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) general assembly with a strengthened hand thanks to a roaring economy that has upended expectations.
A Bloomberg News survey last week showed the Malaysian economy is likely to grow 5.7 per cent this year and 5.2 per cent next year, in contrast to sub-five per cent growth in 2016.
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But with Najib appearing to have fully weathered that storm, observers and UMNO insiders say the 64-year-old leader will use the five-day event starting Tuesday to fire the starting gun to the election season, after hemming and hawing about it the whole of this year.