“This is unprecedented. Najib will be remembered for his many firsts, the first prime minister to lose a general election, and the first to be convicted,” commented Adib Zalkapli, director of political risk consultancy BowerGroupAsia.
Najib, 69, is the son of a Malay royal. He completed his education in Britain and was Malaysia’s prime minister from 2009 to 2018. When public anger over a corruption scandal led to an election defeat, dozens of corruption charges were filed in the following months.
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Najib was found guilty by a lower court in July 2020 for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering for illegally receiving about US$10 million from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB. He was later released from prison on bail pending an appeal hearing. The former prime minister, who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of 210 million ringgit (US$46.84 million). (rr)