Former 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Najib Razak (born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician. He became the Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. He lost his re-election bid in the 2018 general election. One of the most controversial leaders of the 21st century, his rule was known for corruption,[1][2][3] a lavish lifestyle,[4][5][6][7] and restricting free speech.[8]
Najib Razak | |
|---|---|
| |
 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia | |
| In office 3 April 2009 – 10 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| Succeeded by | Mahathir Mohamad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 July 1953 Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Malaya (now Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Malaysia) |
| Political party | United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) |
| Spouse(s) | Puteri Zainah Eskandar (1976–1987) Rosmah Mansor (1987–present) |
Najib became Deputy Prime Minister in 2004 and took over from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a year after Barisan Nasional lost badly in the 2008 election. He was accused of being involved in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006,[9] but he denied it.[10]
Since he started leading the government in 2009, many problems have happened in the country’s politics, society, and economy.[11] After the 2013 election, his government charged some critics with sedition,[12] jailed Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy,[13] and introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST).[14] In 2015, Najib was involved in a major corruption scandal with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). This caused protests by Bersih calling for his resignation.[15][16][17] The protests led to a declaration by Mahathir Mohamad, Pakatan Harapan, and NGOs to remove Najib.[18]
To handle the corruption accusations, Najib tightened his control by replacing Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, suspending two newspapers, and passing a law that gave him more power.[19][20] His cuts to subsidies caused living costs to rise,[21] and the 1MDB scandal and changing oil prices led to a drop in the Malaysian currency.[22][23] This helped BN lose the 2018 elections. Najib accepted defeat and promised to help with the power transfer.[24] FinanceAsia named Najib the worst finance minister in 2016.[25] TIME magazine listed Najib as one of the world leaders less popular than U.S. President Donald Trump.[26]
On 28 July 2020, the High Court convicted Najib on all seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust, becoming the first Prime Minister of Malaysia to be convicted of corruption.[27][28] At the same time, Najib was ordered to pay RM1.69 billion in tax arrears to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).[29] On 8 December 2021, the Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court and denied Najib's appeal to overturn his conviction and jail sentence in the SRC case.[30] On 23 August 2022, the Federal Court confirmed the sentence.[31] Najib is now serving his time in Kajang Prison.[32]
On 2 February 2024, Malaysia's pardons board cut Najib's sentence to six years and reduced his fines to 50 million ringgit ($10.59 million).[33] On 3 April, Najib asked the court to change his jail term to house arrest,[34] but the request was denied on 3 July.[35] On 24 October, Najib apologized for the harm caused by the 1MDB scandal but claimed he had been misled.[36]
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