Malaysia Prepares For a Political Circus
Nine months into a political crisis, there appears no end in sight
By: John Berthelsen and Murray Hunter
In what might be called a dress rehearsal for a much more important election in Sabah on September 26, Mohd Zaidi Aziz, candidate of the United Malays National Organization, won Malaysia’s Slim River constituency for a state assembly race going away with 84.53 percent of the vote and drubbing two opposing candidates. The Sabah election is expected to give a strong indication of the country’s political future, which depressingly looks like chaos.
The Slim River race was notable for little more than the fact that convicted former Prime Minister Najib Razak (above) was there to take dubious credit for shepherding the campaign while handicapped by the fact that he is free on appeal from a verdict of 12 years in prison for diverting RM42 million (US$9.87 million from SRC International, a unit of 1Malaysia Development Bhd into his personal bank accounts.
Although Najib campaigned for candidates in previous by-elections after the Barisan Nasional, which he headed as UMNO president, lost the national election to the Pakatan Harapan coalition then headed by nonagenarian premier Mahathir Mohamad, it is the first time he has tested his credibility since his conviction on seven counts of corruption and money laundering on July 30.