Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrives for a Ramadan breakfast at a mosque in Semenyih outside Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak rejected accusations he misappropriated funds as he faces his biggest crisis since coming to power in 2009.
A task force is investigating a money trail that allegedly showed funds ending up in Najib’s bank accounts, a claim he says is political sabotage. “I am not a thief,” Najib told reporters on Sunday. “I am not a traitor and will not betray Malaysians and Malaysia.”
Whether Najib, 61, can withstand the scandal depends in large part on the backing within his own party, given the opposition coalition recently split and is in disarray. Some ministers have publicly voiced support, though his deputy has called for the claims to be probed, and former leader Mahathir Mohamad has urged him for months to stand aside.
About USD700 million may have moved through government agencies, banks and companies linked to a state investment company before apparently appearing in the accounts, the Wall Street Journal reported July 3, citing documents from a government probe. Najib chairs the advisory board of the debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Najib’s approval rating fell to 44 percent in January from 48 percent in October, according to a survey conducted by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research that month. Rising living costs and concern ahead of the introduction of a new consumption tax in April contributed to the decline.
For months Najib has resisted calls from Mahathir to step down over 1MDB, which accumulated debt of 41.9 billion ringgit ($11 billion) in a period of less than five years since it was set up. Mahathir has said that Najib has lost the trust of Malaysians, and their party would lose the next general election if he stays as leader.
1MDB on Friday denied it had funneled funds to Najib, rejecting reports that investigators believed they had found such a money trail. The prime minister said he had never taken funds for personal gain and documents on which the Wall Street Journal report is based were doctored. Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
This is bigger than Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.