Malaysia’s Najib eyes political comeback as Malacca state goes to the polls

Local elections in Malacca mark first significant vote since Najib’s United Malays National Organisation returned to top seat of government three months ago
The former prime minister has been rehabilitating his image since the 1MDB financial scandal – and a strong win in Malacca would galvanise him politically

Malaysia

Bloomberg

Published: 1:23pm, 19 Nov 2021

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A crucial state election in Malaysia on Saturday could shape up into a catalyst for disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak to reinvent himself politically and his pro-Malay party to cement their power ahead of a general election due in 2023.

The polls in Malacca, located on the southwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, mark the first significant vote since Najib’s United Malays National Organisation returned to the top seat of government three months ago.

Najib was Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 until the multibillion ringgit corruption scandal involving state fund 1MDB cost his party the 2018 election. He has since been rehabilitating his image through social media, gaining traction among followers with his jibes against the two governments that succeeded his. A strong win in Malacca would galvanise him politically.

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s preoccupation with national matters means Najib could take all the credit from an Umno success in Malacca. Photo: Bernama/DPA

The state has been an Umno stronghold for the most part – slipping away only briefly in 2018 to a Pakatan Harapan-led coalition – and Najib has been at the forefront of the party’s election campaign, even as he is appealing a criminal conviction and faces dozens of corruption charges.

With Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob preoccupied with national matters, and Umno president Zahid Hamidi out of the country for medical reasons, Najib is set to take all the credit – or shoulder the blame – for the party’s fate when results come in on Saturday.

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“Since I’ve gone down to the ground – and I’ve done so many times, to almost every corner of Malacca – the response has been friendly, spontaneous,” said Najib in a Facebook video on Wednesday. Many had clamoured to take photos with him during his walks, he said.

“At the minimum, he is flexing his political muscle in that even in view of his legal troubles he is still able to deliver Malacca for Umno,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. “At the most ambitious level, this would, of course, be his stepping stone to be back at the apex of Malaysian politics.”

Already, the former prime minister has shown he is resilient and continues to wield clout in his party.

Najib thwarted the government’s attempt to forfeit luxury items from him as well as its bid to prove 114 million ringgit (US$27 million) seized from a residence linked to him was part of 1MDB’s stolen funds. He was also instrumental in the fall of the previous Bersatu-led government in August.

He recently applied for a piece of government land and for the government to develop a house for him on it, invoking a privilege bestowed to former prime ministers, Finance Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz told parliament on Thursday.

The cabinet is yet to decide on the application, which requires parliament’s approval, he added. Opposition lawmakers opposed the move, saying it would cost the government 100 million ringgit, a figure that Zafrul did not deny.

Umno domination

A win for Umno could also pave the way for the party to continue dominating politics in the next general election, and perhaps well through the decade. Ismail’s appointment in August marked Umno’s comeback to the country’s top post after just three years on the periphery. The party had ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 before its ousting in 2018.

Should Umno win big in Malacca, the first election where it goes against its alliance partners in the national government, it would also guarantee multi-cornered contests in the next general election as it seeks to eliminate Bersatu and PAS, according to Wong Chin Huat, a professor of political science at the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University in Malaysia. A narrow victory could lead to Umno striking a deal with Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan in Malacca, he said.

Najib certainly hopes to seal his power within Umno as the No 1 vote-getter

Wong Chin Huat, Malaysia-based political-science professor

If Umno does strikes a deal to form the government in Malacca, it could be the template for the general election, Wong said. “Umno and PH would compete first then form a coalition later.”

Still, Saturday’s outcome may not be so straightforward. Voter fatigue from Malaysia’s protracted political turmoil – the country has had three governments since 2018 – could see a low turnout, essentially a vote of no confidence toward all campaigners, and even a hung state assembly, according to Wong.

“Najib certainly hopes to seal his power within Umno as the No 1 vote-getter,” Wong said. But, there is still a chance that the opposition’s anti-corruption campaign could hurt him. “If Umno loses some seats, some blame would go to him too,” Wong added.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Najib eyes comeback as Malacca goes to the polls