Najib’s preferential treatment

Another former prime minister, Najib Razak — serving time for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal — remains a political liability for Anwar. Though popular within UMNO and its base, he is widely denounced as a kleptocrat elsewhere. In February, a Pardons Board unexpectedly halvedNajib’s sentence and slashed his fines, fuelling backlash from the public and government. Anwar’s predicament is unenviable — he needs UMNO’s backing to govern, but Najib’s preferential treatment undermines his reformist credentials. Beyond politics, Malaysia faced compounding crises in late 2024. Severe flooding in the northern states displaced hundreds of thousands, while sporadic shortages of local white rice deepened food security concerns. Transnational haze persisted and a string of incidents, from power outages in East Malaysia to a tourist vanishing into a Kuala Lumpur sinkhole, exposed pressing infrastructure gaps. สล็อต เว็บตรง