Daily Times

Amid mounting suspense in Malaysia, former leader Najib Razak is expected to give a statement to an anti-graft agency on Tuesday explaining what he knew about $10.6 million transferred into his bank account from a unit of a state fund he founded.

The remorseless humiliation of Najib since his unexpected election defeat on May 9 has left Malaysians waiting to see what happens next to the urbane former prime minister, and his allegedly big-spending wife, Rosmah Mansor.

They have been barred from leaving the country, while their home and other properties have been searched, and Najib has been summoned to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to give a statement on just one small part of a massive financial scandal.

Finding out what happened to billions of dollars that went missing from state-investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is a priority for Malaysia’s new leader, Mahathir Mohamad, who at the age of 92 came out of political retirement and joined the opposition to topple his former protege. New MACC chief Mohd Shukri Abdull told reporters to expect a “special briefing” on Tuesday.

Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to 1MDB since the scandal erupted in 2015, but he replaced an attorney-general and several MACC officers to shut down an investigation.

Najib has said $681 million of funds deposited in his personal bank account were a donation from a Saudi royal, rebutting reports that the funds came from 1MDB.

Now answering to a different prime minister, the MACC has reopened its investigation, initially focusing on how 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) went from SRC International to Najib’s account.

Published in Daily Times, May 22^nd 2018.