Najib Razak

Najib Razak is the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, currently imprisoned due to his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, a multi-billion dollar corruption case involving the nation's sovereign wealth fund. He is newsworthy due to recent legal developments, including a court ordering him to pay US$1.3 billion to a 1MDB unit and a new 15-year jail term for abuse of power and money laundering in a related case. His attempts to serve his sentence under house arrest, based on a supposed royal decree, have been rejected by the High Court. These events have stirred debate about royal pardons and caused fissures within his former party, UMNO, with some members urging the party to withdraw from the current government in protest. Najib's ongoing legal battles and their political ramifications continue to be significant in Malaysian politics.