Malaysia’s Anwar Reviewing Cooperation With PM Over Najib Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his coalition was forced to review its current “understanding” with the government after the cabinet received Najib Razak’s request for a home and land.

The matter was never discussed with the opposition alliance during meetings with the government, he said in a Facebook post Thursday. “The cabinet’s act of ‘gifting’ land and a house to someone convicted by a court is clearly an immoral and nonsensical decision,” he wrote.

The review could risk throwing Malaysia into another round of political instability. Ismail Sabri Yaakob in August became Malaysia’s third prime minister in 18 months after the king determined he had the backing of 114 of the country’s 220 lawmakers. One of Ismail’s first moves to bolster support was signing a confidence and supply agreement with the opposition Pakatan Harapan alliance. 

Finance Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz on Thursday said Najib had made the request for a land, plus a home to be built on it, by invoking a privilege accorded to former prime ministers. This was after Mahathir Mohamad raised the issue in parliament.

Malaysia’s cabinet was finalizing its decision on Najib’s application, and it would require tabling a supplementary bill in parliament, Zafrul said. Opposition members of parliament protested the move, saying the property was worth 100 million ringgit ($24 million), a figure that Zafrul did not deny. 

The revelation came just days ahead of a crucial state election that could shape up into a catalyst for Najib to reinvent himself politically and his pro-Malay party to cement its power before a general election that must be held by 2023.

“I observe that an old script is being used to sow the people’s hatred against Najib for the Malacca state election,” wrote Najib on Facebook Thursday. “Suddenly, it’s given a price tag of 100 million ringgit. When in fact it is existing government land given to me to choose from under a government act. Not ordering the government to spend to purchase it for me.”

Najib was Malaysia’s premier from 2009 until the multibillion ringgit corruption scandal involving state fund 1MDB cost his party the 2018 election. He remains an MP in his home state, and has since been rehabilitating his image through social media. A strong win in Malacca would galvanize him politically.

“The people will surely not forget how the Pekan MP forced the government and the citizens of Malaysia to shoulder a debt as high as 32 billion ringgit due to the corruption and dishonesty of 1MDB,” wrote Anwar on Thursday.

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