Stunning fall of Malaysia's Najib ushers in hopes of reform
23/5/2018 19:34
Two weeks ago, Najib Razak was supremely confident of being elected Malaysia's prime minister for a third term. Instead, in a dizzying political drama, he lost an unlosable election and spiraled into ever-deepening disgrace while Malaysians are being feted for advancing democratic values against their global retreat. In a series of humiliations, the patrician and luxury-loving Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor were banned from leaving the country; truckloads of luggage stashed with cash and valuables as well as hundreds of expensive designer bags were seized from their home and other properties; and anti-corruption police questioned Najib for hours this week about a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal on his watch. After 60 years of uninterrupted rule by the National Front party, many Malaysians are optimistic they are ushering in an era of reform that echoes the democratic transformation of giant neighbor Indonesia two decades earlier. The difference, they hope, is that it will continue to be accomplished without setting their multiethnic country in flames. A grouping of progressive Southeast Asian lawmakers has hailed Najib's defeat as a "bright spot amid dark times" of rising authoritarianism across the region.
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