This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 29, 2025 - January 4, 2026

The crimes related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) are different from the usual corruption cases. They are the epitome of what happens when there is unfettered power in the hands of one person who is in charge of the nation’s coffers.

What occurred at 1MDB is similar to a banker putting his hand in the till.

In a nutshell, 1MDB, which was created by the then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and had the Ministry of Finance as its sole shareholder, kept issuing bonds to raise money.

The money was supposed to be used to lure high-impact investments into the country. Instead, it was diverted to individuals including Najib himself.

Between end-2009 and 2013, 1MDB was a money-minting machine, using its leverage as a federal government entity to raise ringgit- and US dollar-denominated bonds amounting to about RM40 billion.

Whenever it was short of funds, all it had to do was go to the “banker” to facilitate borrowings, whether through an issuance of bonds or directly from a financial institution.

In this case, the bank was the federal government and the “banker” who facilitated the process was Najib.

At the height of his political career, Najib was untouchable. He used the state machinery to tightly control the narrative surrounding 1MDB.

Hired writers kept spinning stories on social media that all was well with the so-called sovereign wealth fund and that it only faced cash flow problems. This was despite Prokhas, the government restructuring agency, reporting in 2015 that 1MDB was in dire straits.

National newspaper editors were told to ensure that there was a complete blackout of news on 1MDB.

At the time, I was working for a national newspaper and the instructions from the top were clear — there should not be any stories on 1MDB. The word “1MDB” itself was not allowed to be mentioned in any articles and columns.

That was the extent of Najib’s influence then. It all changed in May 2018. Today, he is in jail for crimes related to 1MDB. His sentence of 12 years has been halved and the fine of RM210 million has been reduced to RM50 million, thanks to the former King, who is the Sultan of Pahang. Najib, who is also from Pahang, is slated to be released in August 2028.

On Dec 26, he was also found guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds.

Since 2018, several high-profile politicians have been charged with corruption and abuse of power. Among them is Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

So far, only Najib is serving a custodial sentence.

There have been calls for empathy for the former prime minister, who has been in jail since August 2022. There is even a suggestion that he be pardoned and amnesty be given to the other politicians who are facing charges so the country can have a “political reset”.

Giving Najib a get-out-of-jail-free card and letting off the other politicians, who include Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Lim Guan Eng and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, will not result in a “political reset”.

Firstly, these politicians may not want to be part of such an amnesty as it means they will be considered guilty.

Secondly, the notion of a political reset is a fallacy. The reality is that there is no guarantee that an amnesty will lead to a future where those in power will not abuse their positions.

Politics needs a huge amount of funding. Not many politicians survive without resorting to corruption and abusing the government machinery to silence opponents.

Finally, a bigger repercussion is the impact on Malaysia’s judiciary. A pardon and an amnesty will upend the legal system.

It will undermine the decisions of judges who spend countless hours combing through arguments before making their ruling in accordance with the law. In the latest instance, in a case related to Najib, the High Court ruled that in accordance with the Constitution, a decision made by the King outside of the meeting of the Pardons Board is not enforceable.

Any move to short-circuit the judicial process will also impact agencies that spent money and time to investigate the wrongdoings.

If enforcement agencies believe that influential figures may be allowed to walk free despite all the evidence gathered, they would tend to have a lackadaisical approach to tackling high-profile cases.

Ultimately, the perception will be that enforcement agencies are “for hire” by those in power.

The crimes related to 1MDB are not garden-variety offences. The perpetrators used the government’s balance sheet to borrow money that went into the pockets of individuals.

There were many people involved in 1MDB. The chief architect was Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low. He sat in on 1MDB board meetings and controlled the proceedings. But he could only do so because he had Najib’s ear — let’s not forget that.

Najib was reminded many times of the destructive effect 1MDB was having on the nation’s coffers but he did not care.

All those in the government who were attempting to put a stop to 1MDB were silenced. The attorney general was removed while the top brass of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was moved out.

Najib did not even heed the warnings of his own family members and close confidants. So, should we feel sorry for him?

So sorry but some sections of the Malaysian public do not feel the same way as the Umno leaders. He is paying the price for what he did.

Najib’s crime is different from the corruption charges involving other politicians.

For instance, during an anti-corruption drive, former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin was charged with not declaring his assets. The sons of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad were also investigated in relation to their assets.

During the Dr Mahathir-Daim rule of the country, the most lucrative government contracts went to Umno-linked companies.

Leading the pack was Renong Bhd, followed by UEM Bhd. During the 1990s, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd was an Umno-linked company until the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) became its major shareholder. There were allegations of prices being inflated for contracts.

But for all the allegations of corruption, there were assets to show for them. The North-South Expressway, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the first two Light Rail Transit (LRT) networks and KL Sentral.

In the case of 1MDB, more than RM40 billion was raised but all it had to show for it was the half-baked Tun Razak Exchange (TRX). Even the land on which TRX stands had been given to 1MDB on a silver platter as it paid a price that was below market value.

In addition, 486 acres in Bandar Malaysia were also given to 1MDB for development but nothing came of it.

It is easy to understand why Najib’s supporters want him out of prison. Even though he is a convicted criminal, his presence will help strengthen Umno’s influence among the Malay voters in the next general election.

But any move to short-circuit the judicial process will leave the nation deeply scarred. And the judiciary, once scarred, will remain so forever.

Any move to interfere in the legal process just to please one person will have severe consequences. And there should not be a blanket amnesty for politicians because it sets a bad precedent.

M Shanmugam ([email protected]) is a contributing editor at The Edge

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