Najib Razak

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Abdul Razak is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Mohammad Najib. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Yang Hormat Dato' Sri Haji
Najib Razak
DK II (Pahang) DK I (Brunei) SPMK DMK SSSJ SPSA SSAP SIMP SPDK DUNM DP DSAP PNBS
نجيب رزاق
Official portrait, 2009
6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office
3 April 2009 – 9 May 2018
Monarchs
Deputy
Preceded byAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Succeeded byMahathir Mohamad
7th President of the United Malays National Organisation
(ex officio: Chairman of Barisan Nasional)
In office
26 March 2009 – 12 May 2018
Deputy
  • Muhyiddin Yassin
  • Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Preceded byAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Succeeded byAhmad Zahid Hamidi
9th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office
7 January 2004 – 3 April 2009
Prime MinisterAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Preceded byAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Succeeded byMuhyiddin Yassin
12th Menteri Besar of Pahang
In office
4 May 1982 – 14 August 1986
MonarchAhmad Shah
DeputyAbdul Rashid Abdul Rahman
Preceded byAbdul Rashid Abdul Rahman
Succeeded byMohd Khalil Yaakob
Ministerial portfolios
1978–1979Deputy Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts
1979–1981Deputy Minister of Education
1981–1982Deputy Minister of Finance
1986–1987Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports
1987–1990Minister of Youth and Sports
1990–1995Minister of Defence
1995–1999Minister of Education
1999–2008Minister of Defence
2008–2018Minister of Finance
2012–2013Acting Minister of Women, Family and Community Development
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Pekan
In office
6 October 1986 – 6 September 2022[1]
Preceded byMohamed Amin Daud
Succeeded bySh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali
In office
21 February 1976 – 14 June 1982
Preceded byAbdul Razak Hussein
Succeeded byMohamed Amin Daud
Member of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly
for Bandar Pekan
In office
1982–1986
Preceded byShamsiah Abdul Hamid
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak

(1953-07-23) 23 July 1953 (age 71)
Kuala Lipis, Pahang, Federation of Malaya
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO) (since 1976)
Other political
affiliations
Spouses
  • Puteri Zainah Eskandar
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1976; div. 1987)​
  • ​
    (m. 1987)​
Children5 (including Nazifuddin and Nizar)
Parents
RelativesHishammuddin Hussein (cousin)
Riza Aziz (stepson)
Education
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham (BSc)[2]
Signature
This article is part of
a series about
Najib Razak

Prime Minister of Malaysia

1MDB scandal

  • Cabinets
Najib Razak
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1976–1982Barisan Nasional
1986–2022Barisan Nasional
Faction represented in Pahang State Legislative Assembly
1982–1986Barisan Nasional

Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (Jawi: محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, Malay: [muhammad nadʒɪb]; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal,[3] one of the largest money-laundering and embezzlement scandals in history.[4][5] He is the son of former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein. Najib Razak was the chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from April 2009 to May 2018 and the president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from November 2008 to May 2018,[6][7] which had maintained control of Malaysia's government with a parliamentary majority for more than sixty years until the coalition's defeat in the 2018 general election.

Najib was elected to the Parliament of Malaysia in 1976, at the age of 23, replacing his deceased father in the Pahang-based seat of Pekan. In the same year, he was appointed the head of UMNO Youth's Pekan branch and became a member of the youth wing's Executive Council. In the early years of his political career, Najib took on a deputy minister role in 1976, and between 1982 and 1986, he was the Menteri Besar of Pahang. Thereafter, until 2009, he was rotated throughout the Cabinet of Malaysia, taking on various ministerial portfolios in defence, education, culture, youth and sports, and finally finance. Between 1993 and 2009, Najib was a vice-president of UMNO. During his tenure as Deputy Prime Minister, he was accused of being involved in the 2006 Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case,[8] but he denied any involvement in the case.[9]

Najib's tenure as prime minister, between 2009 and 2018, was marked by economic liberalisation measures, such as cuts to government subsidies, loosening of restrictions on foreign investment, and reductions in preferential measures for ethnic Malays in business. After the 2013 election, his government pursued a number of its critics on sedition charges, the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim following a conviction for sodomy and the implementation of a Goods and Services Tax (GST). He was Prime Minister during the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disaster and a dispute with North Korea following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam. In 2015, Najib became implicated in a major corruption scandal involving state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) which led to rallies calling for his resignation, spearheaded by the grassroots movement Bersih.[10][11][12] These protests culminated in the Malaysian Citizens' Declaration by Mahathir Mohamad, Pakatan Harapan and NGOs which sought to oust Najib.[13][14]

Najib's response to the corruption accusations was to tighten his grip on power by replacing then-deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, suspending two newspapers and pushing through parliament a controversial National Security Council Bill that provides the prime minister with unprecedented powers.[15][16] Najib's various subsidy cuts have contributed to soaring living costs,[17] while fluctuating oil prices and the fallout from the 1MDB scandal led to a depreciation of the Malaysian currency.[18][19] These ended with BN's loss in the 2018 general elections. Najib then conceded defeat and promised to help facilitate a smooth transition of power.[20]

On 3 July 2018, Najib was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which investigated how RM42 million (US$10.6 million) went from SRC International, a company related to 1MDB, into Najib's bank account.[21] In the process, the police seized a number of fashion accessories worth $273 million while searching through his properties.[22] Najib was subsequently charged and convicted by the High Court on abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust, becoming the first Prime Minister of Malaysia to be convicted of corruption,[23][24] and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and fined RM210 million.[25][26] At the same time, Najib was also simultaneously directed to settle RM1.69 billion in tax arrears owed to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).[27] The sentence was upheld by the Federal Court on 23 August 2022.[28] He is currently serving his sentence in Kajang Prison.[29]

  1. ^ Lim, Ida (2 September 2022). "Six questions about Najib's Pekan seat (and GE15 dreams) now that he's in prison". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023. On when the 14-day period would lapse for Najib, Shanmuga said "he has until end of Tuesday, September 6."
  2. ^ "Y.A.B. Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak". Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia (in Malay). Archived from the original on 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  3. ^ Tee, Kenneth (28 July 2020). "High Court finds Najib guilty of all seven charges in misappropriation of RM42m SRC International funds". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  4. ^ Ramesh, Randeep (28 July 2016). "1MDB: The inside story of the world's biggest financial scandal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  5. ^ "1MDB: The playboys, PMs and partygoers around a global financial scandal". BBC News. 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  6. ^ Nadzri, Muhamad M. N. (1 December 2018). "The 14th General Election, the Fall of Barisan Nasional, and Political Development in Malaysia, 1957-2018". Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs. 37 (3): 139–171. doi:10.1177/186810341803700307. ISSN 1868-1034.
  7. ^ "Najib Razak steps down as UMNO president". CNA. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  8. ^ HABIB, SHAHANAAZ (3 July 2008). "Altantuya: Razak's PI makes shocking statutory declaration (Update)". The Star.
  9. ^ Tee, By Kenneth (23 January 2019). "Najib: Lies. I never met Altantuya". Malay Mail.
  10. ^ Arrests at rally calling for Najib's resignation Archived 6 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine. The Straits Times, 1 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  11. ^ Protesters Call on Malaysian Prime Minister to resign Archived 31 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Wall Street Journal, 1 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  12. ^ Bersih plans overnight rally in August to demand Najib's resignation Archived 26 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine. The Straits Times, 29 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Malaysia alliance demands removal of scandal-hit PM Najib". Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Malaysia's Mahathir and opposition sign declaration to oust Najib". The Straits Times. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  15. ^ "Malaysia's Najib looks to ride out political crisis". Reuters. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  16. ^ "New bill gives Najib extensive powers". 5 December 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  17. ^ Malaysians seen curbing spending as living costs surge Archived 12 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Bloomberg, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  18. ^ Ringgit, oil prices drop ahead of Najib's economic address Archived 7 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. The Malay Mail Online, 20 January 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  19. ^ Ringgit extends monthly losses as 1MDB scandal hurts sentiment Archived 12 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Bloomberg, 31 July 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Najib congratulates Dr Mahathir over PM appointment". New Straits Times. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak arrested, to be charged on Wednesday over 1MDB scandal". CNA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  22. ^ 1MDB scandal explained: a tale of Malaysia's missing billions Archived 31 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Published by The Guardian on 25 October 2018
  23. ^ "Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak found guilty of all 7 charges in 1MDB trial". Channel News Asia. 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Najib Razak: Former Malaysian PM guilty on all charges in corruption trial". BBC News. 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  25. ^ "Ex-Malaysian PM Najib gets 12 years' jail in 1MDB-linked graft trial". The Straits Times. 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak sentenced to 12 years in jail following guilty verdict in 1MDB trial". Channel NewsAsia. 28 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  27. ^ "High Court allows IRB to collect RM1.69b in tax arrears from former PM Najib". www.malaymail.com. 22 July 2020.
  28. ^ Wong, Feliz Solomon and Ying Xian (23 August 2022). "Najib Razak, Malaysia's Ex-Prime Minister, to Be Imprisoned After Losing Final 1MDB Appeal". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  29. ^ "Najib taken to Kajang Prison". New Straits Times. 23 August 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.