Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia’s official explanation of the $681 million that ended up in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank account — it was an entirely proper gift from friends — has triggered derision and fresh questions in a country already well-used to allegations of graft.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak (center) walks toward his car after attending a parliament session in Kuala Lumpur in this January 26 photo. (AFP PHOTO)
On Tuesday, Malaysia’s Najib-appointed attorney-general cleared the premier of wrongdoing in a scandal that has gripped the nation, declaring that the money was a “personal donation” from the Saudi royal family.
The announcement capped months of evasion by Najib on the source of the money and apparently laid to rest any threat of prosecution by Malaysian authorities.
But Malaysia’s opposition, anti-graft activists and social media users pounced on the perceived implausibility of the unexplained Saudi largesse and alleged a government whitewash.
The Saudis themselves have not helped the situation, with The Wall Street Journal quoting a Saudi official saying the kingdom’s government had no knowledge of the donation, adding such a royal gift would be “unprecedented.”
Senior opposition figure Lim Kit Siang called the episode a “high-water mark” in Malaysia’s well-documented history of government corruption and impunity.
“I cannot think of another case in the nation’s history where the attorney-general’s decision… has been greeted with more skepticism, outrage and scorn,” he said.
Najib, 62, has struggled to explain the mysterious payment since it was revealed last July.
He at first hotly denied it, but his government later acknowledged the payment came from a then-unspecified Middle Eastern donor.
The revelation was particularly explosive because Najib already faced allegations that similar amounts were missing from a state-owned company he founded, and reports of lavish spending and possible corruption by his family, all of which are denied.