Birds of a feather...

Clark Cabinet or BC Hydro Board?

He might not be Person of the Year, but TIME is paying attention to BC Liberals' favourite Malaysian politician and LNG partner. In These 5 Facts Explain the State of Global Corruption, Ian Bremmer writes:

In 2009, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak established a sovereign wealth fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to help the country attract foreign investment and boost its economy. Long story short, by 2015, 1MDB owed investors $11 billion. As investigations of the state fund got underway, it was revealed that $681 million dollars had been deposited into Najib’s personal account. The prime minister copped to the money transfer, but claimed it was a “gift” from the Saudi royal family, about $620 million of which he says he has returned. Two weeks ago, the 1MDB investigation uncovered that the total routed into Najib’s personal account was actually about $1 billion.

In an earlier TIME article, Nash Jenkins wrote:

...a series of overseas investigations into the Malaysian money trail, including one initiated by the F.B.I., are still pending.

...activists from across the Southeast Asian nation released a statement condemning the Prime Minister, whose actions, they wrote, “have jeopardized and will sacrifice the future of Malaysia.”

...Most Malaysians have resigned to the fact that corruption is a systemic problem but the quantum of the 1MDB allegations has shocked everyone.”

A reader/contributor of In-Sights who has long followed the Najib Razak and Petronas stories had this to say,

That Time mentioned Malaysia at all, and compared it with Brazil, South Africa, China, and Russia?

That's not a ranking or inclusion that generates confidence.

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