Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak ready to fight back as trial of the century looms
- Najib faces a total of 42 charges linked to the 1MDB scandal
- But his charm offensive seems to work amid growing dissatisfaction with Mahathir’s government
Najib Razak and Rosmah Mansor, once Malaysia’s most politically powerful couple, had just finished a dinner to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary on Thursday night when they were greeted with a sight that has become all too familiar since last May – anti-graft officers at their doorstep.
With his corruption trial starting on Tuesday, Najib, the disgraced former prime minister, was informed that he was to be slapped with three additional criminal charges.
That takes the total number of charges he is facing for his alleged links to the plundering of the 1MDB state fund to an eye-popping 42.
With over US$4.5 billion looted, the case is widely seen as the world’s biggest ever financial scandal. If convicted and sentenced to consecutive maximum prison terms for just a handful of those charges, the 65-year-old faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Still, on Friday, the former leader appeared nonchalant in court, wearing a crisp dark suit – and carrying his trademark patrician air – as he pleaded not guilty.
It is that defiance, along with a concerted charm offensive painting himself as a victim of revenge politics, that has some observers wondering if the new Pakatan Harapan government led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has written Najib off too quickly.