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Malaysian alliance calls for PM Najib Razak’s removal

Friday, 04 March 2016 11:23 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 March 2016 11:50 AM ]

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (photo by AFP)

Leaders from across Malaysia's political spectrum join forces to call for the removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak who is mired in a festering corruption scandal.

Opposition leaders, some ruling party members and former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad on Friday joined the chorus as Najib returned from a four-day visit to Saudi Arabia.

Najib is engulfed in a scandal surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and deposits into his private accounts worth around $680 million.

A memorandum agreed by 58 signatories and read by Mahathir at a joint conference in Kuala Lumpur called for Najib's ouster.

The conference was attended by opposition politicians, anti-government activists and Muhyiddin Yassin, who was sacked as deputy prime minister last year after he openly questioned Najib on the scandal.

“We call upon all Malaysians, irrespective of race, religion, political situation, creed or parties, young and old, to join us in saving Malaysia from the government headed by Najib Razak,” the joint statement said.

The scandal came to light in early July last year when the Wall Street Journal revealed that some $700 million had been transferred to Najib’s private accounts before the 2013 general election.

The report suggested that the money came from a state development fund. Najib was already being looked at skeptically because hundreds of millions of dollars were missing from 1MDB.

Last month, Malaysia’s attorney general cleared Najib of any criminal wrongdoing, saying the $681 million transferred into his account back in 2013 was from the Saudi royal family and was personal donations.

According to the attorney general, Najib had returned USD 620 million of the money to the Saudi royal family in August 2013, about five months after the transfer.

However, some opposition members have criticized the ruling, arguing that the transfer of personal donations did not rule out corrupt motives or transactions.

A picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency on March 2, 2016 shows Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz (L) shaking hands with Malaysia's PM Najib Razak at the royal palace in Riyadh. (AFP photo)

On Tuesday, Najib met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a visit to Riyadh, where he said relations between the two sides were strong as ever.

Najib came into office in 2009 promising a government free of corruption and a more relaxed rule.

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