Malaysia’s Najib back on campaign trail despite graft conviction
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Slim, Malaysia — Convicted of corruption less than a month ago and sentenced to 12 years in jail, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is back campaigning for a party candidate in a by-election for a state assembly seat.
Najib, who is on bail, is waiting for his appeal date to be set, while accused in two other trials and waiting for two more to begin — mostly linked to the looting of billions of dollars from defunct sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDP).
Despite that, his party — the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) — and its ethnic Chinese and Indian party allies invited Najib to be their star campaigner for a by-election this month in Slim district, about 90 minutes north of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Najib was voted out of office in 2018 amid outrage over the 1MDB scandal. But since then he has undergone a public relations makeover to shed his image as a blue-blooded member of the elite and broaden his appeal to ordinary Malays.
With more than 4-million followers on Facebook and Twitter, he has become more popular on social media than any other Malaysian politician.
Having always denied guilt, Najib said the court verdict had not affected his voter appeal, or that of his party.
“On the contrary, some people say I have much more sympathy from the people,” Najib said after breakfasting with supporters during a campaign stop in Perak, a northern state on the Malay Peninsula on Sunday.
Najib’s fortunes appeared to improve in February as his rivals’ coalition government imploded, and UMNO returned to power in an alliance led by prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
On the stump in rural Perak, Najib was very much in his comfort zone, though the numbers attending election rallies were restricted by coronavirus social-distancing rules.
As he arrived at the breakfast gathering, loudspeakers blasted out a thumping rap to deliver Najib's catchphrase. Using biker slang, the message goes: “What’s to be ashamed of, my boss?”
About 100 supporters present cheered enthusiastically.
Later in the day he visited homes in communities fringed by palm oil estates and posed for selfies over lunch at a restaurant.
Shahrum Abdul Rakeb, a diner, said Najib had his unwavering support.
“We will see how the situation turns out, but either way I still support him,” Shahrum said. “I think the people have begun to realise we know who is better ...
Najib, who is on bail, is waiting for his appeal date to be set, while accused in two other trials and waiting for two more to begin — mostly linked to the looting of billions of dollars from defunct sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDP).
Despite that, his party — the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) — and its ethnic Chinese and Indian party allies invited Najib to be their star campaigner for a by-election this month in Slim district, about 90 minutes north of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Najib was voted out of office in 2018 amid outrage over the 1MDB scandal. But since then he has undergone a public relations makeover to shed his image as a blue-blooded member of the elite and broaden his appeal to ordinary Malays.
With more than 4-million followers on Facebook and Twitter, he has become more popular on social media than any other Malaysian politician.
Having always denied guilt, Najib said the court verdict had not affected his voter appeal, or that of his party.
“On the contrary, some people say I have much more sympathy from the people,” Najib said after breakfasting with supporters during a campaign stop in Perak, a northern state on the Malay Peninsula on Sunday.
Najib’s fortunes appeared to improve in February as his rivals’ coalition government imploded, and UMNO returned to power in an alliance led by prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
On the stump in rural Perak, Najib was very much in his comfort zone, though the numbers attending election rallies were restricted by coronavirus social-distancing rules.
As he arrived at the breakfast gathering, loudspeakers blasted out a thumping rap to deliver Najib's catchphrase. Using biker slang, the message goes: “What’s to be ashamed of, my boss?”
About 100 supporters present cheered enthusiastically.
Later in the day he visited homes in communities fringed by palm oil estates and posed for selfies over lunch at a restaurant.
Shahrum Abdul Rakeb, a diner, said Najib had his unwavering support.
“We will see how the situation turns out, but either way I still support him,” Shahrum said. “I think the people have begun to realise we know who is better ...
