Big protests are expected in Malaysia tomorrow against Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Najib is accused of embezzling over $700 million from the underperforming national sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB (named after his half-baked and widely-derided "1Malaysia" campaign designed to paper over social fractions resulting from decades of Malay supremacist policy). 1MDB came under attention recently after an NYT article detailing the activities of a well connected suspected front-man from Penang, Jho Low.
Najib claims that this money was in fact a political contribution from
foreign donors in the Gulf, which surprisingly is not illegal in its own right-- but it's not legal, either (he says they'll have to wait and see). None of his ministers can give a consistent explanation as to how the money was spent, although one, unsurprisingly, blamed the Jews. Malaysians suspect the actual use of the money may be related to his wife Rosmah's Birkin handbag habit.
Of course, it goes without saying on this forum that Najib and his UMNO party remain in office even after losing the popular vote in the 2013 general elections to the Pakatan Rakyat, the now disbanded-coalition led by the now-imprisoned Anwar Ibrahim. Najib has problems within his own party, too. He sacked one of his deputy PM's last month after the deputy called for a looking into Najib's finances. Najib's former patron, former long-time PM and old-time
ultra Mahathir Mohamad has become once of his fiercest critics.
It is uncertain if Najib will be able to hold on with mounting pressures. He may survive yet. I am told, however, that there are rumblings that the Malaysian military might, for the first time, be planning to take inspiration from
their northern neighbours... We shall see what happens.
