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The Malaysian legal system seems to have this particular problem of focusing on minor crimes, sensationalising them to the extent that the effects of the minor crime is exaggerated, but leaving major criminals alone. This is due to, in part, the immense issue of corruption: smaller criminals are used as convenient scapegoats – especially in the media.
While the spotlight is on petty crimes (like Sajat’s “crime” of existing as a trans woman or Aliff Syukri’s cringe but not criminal raya video), the larger fish run as free as our former British overlords. Few, if any, consequences are suffered by them.
Here are 5 Malaysian criminals who are still free to do whatever they like despite their crimes:
1. Najib
Source: The Star
This man needs no introduction to Malaysians: a former prime minister who ran afoul of the law thanks to his corruption and embezzlement of the country’s funds. Najib has been charged with 42 offences which are linked to the infamous 1MDB controversy, one of the world’s greatest financial scandals.
Najib would never have been prime minister in the first place if not for the practice of nepotistic cronyism that is so common in the business and political realms here. The son of another former prime minister (Abdul Razak Hussein), Najib’s entrance into the area of politics was at the age of 23 – he was elected in Pekan as a replacement for his father upon the man’s death.
Besides corruption, Najib is known for his abuse of power. When the 1MDB scandal came to light, he was heavily criticised by Mahiaddin Yassin (who prefers to be known as Muhyiddin) who was his Deputy Prime Minister. Najib responded by removing Mahiaddin from his role. He also suspended two newspapers and pushed through parliament the controversial National Security Council Bill 2015. This bill was under the direct authority of the PM, expanding his powers. The Malaysian bar described it as a “lurch towards an authoritarian government”.
Sadly, despite his crimes against the country, Najib seems poised to re-enter local politics. He has recently engaged the help of an American PR firm for “strategic support”.
2. Rosmah
Source: World of Buzz
Everyone knows Rosmah as one half of the country’s celebrity criminal couple. Najib was not the only performing clown in the 1MDB circus – Rosmah contributed by making nonsensical claims such as excusing the extravagant luxury she and Najib lived with, saying that the wealth came from her habit of saving since childhood.
Rosmah’s life of luxury made her unrelatable to Malaysians. She frequently made comments that brewed resentment towards her because of how out of touch she was with the average Malaysian.
A columnist at the Sydney Morning Herald called Rosmah the “first lady of shopping” after a shopping trip in a Sydney boutique that allegedly cost her RM325,000. This was completely normal – Najib and Rosmah not only travelled in private jets but also spent money like water when they were overseas.
The Malaysian police have confiscated goods from her residences that amount to over RM1 billion! They include:
- 12,000 pieces of jewellery
- 423 luxury wrist watches
- 234 luxury sunglasses
- 567 luxury handbags
- RM116 million in more than 26 currencies
It’s amazing how she has been walking around free despite her crimes against the country.
3. Azam Baki
Source: The Star
Lalitha Kunaratnam, a senior researcher at the Centre for Combating Cronyism and Corruption (C4), dropped a bomb when she revealed that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Azam Baki had violated the law: he had purchased millions of shares in a company back in 2015. Her allegations followed similar posts by Twitter whistleblower Edisi Khas.
The first issue in this case was that public servants are required to declare both movable and immovable properties – something Azam Baki clearly did not do. The second was the question of how a civil servant could afford to buy such a large number of shares.
As part of his defence, Azam Baki began attacking Lalitha’s character, saying that she was untrustworthy and that she could have asked him for confirmation and feedback before she went ahead with publishing her exposé. He also claimed that the shares were bought by his brother under his name.
He famously said that “I don’t owe anyone any explanation about what actually happened back in 2015” but forgets that as a public servant, his duty revolves around the public good – Malaysians are owed explanations when public servants are credibly accused of any suspicious activity.
This controversy caused PKR Youth to hold a protest outside MACC, demanding that Azam Baki step down from his role. However, Azam Baki has refused to and has been in fact supported by many other political leaders, including PM Ismail Sabri. There was speculation that Azam Baki had dirt on several prolific people in the country, which could explain why he suffered basically zero consequences.
4. Nevin Tan
Source: orangkata.my
Billionaire tycoon Vincent Tan is a household name in Malaysia. He is the founder of Berjaya Corporation Berhad. Vincent Tan is both a businessman and investor whose worth is estimated at RM4.2 billion. His wealth is partly attributed to his carefully close association with prominent Malay politicians.
Edisi Khas posted about how Nevin Tan, one of Vincent Tan’s sons, had been arrested in late 2019 for growing marijuana plants. This information resurfaced during the arrest of Yasid Sulaiman, a nasyid singer-composer, was arrested for a similar offence.
Yet many quickly pointed out the differences between Yasin and Nevin.
Source: @yasaobi (Twitter)
Yasin was charged with s39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. Under s39B (2) the punishment for those convicted will be the death penalty or life imprisonment and up to 15 strokes of the rotan.
In comparison, Nevin Tan had his charges dropped by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas. Edisi Khas claimed that the case was classified as an NFA (no further action) by Thomas, who interprets the allegation of his corruption simply as him having been bribed. He explicitly says that he has never received a bribe during his stint as a public officer. However, corruption is not only composed of acts of bribery – corruption refers to any abuse of power that results in personal gain.
Very little information can be found about Nevin Tan’s case online.
5. Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin
Source: Astro Awani
A maths prodigy, Nur Fitri had won a Mara scholarship to study in London in 2012. But in 2015, the UK sentenced him to 5 years in jail after he pled guilty to having in his possession more than 30,000 media files depicting child pornography.
The British police described the material as the “most extreme” that they have ever come across.
Nur Fitri served a greatly reduced sentence of 9 months, discreetly returning to Malaysia afterwards. He found himself the topic of intense debate on social media when it was revealed that he had enrolled in a Master’s programme, where he was promoted to PhD level, in UKM.
An interview with one of his lecturers showed that Nur Fitri feels that he did nothing wrong. The lecturer also went on to say that they gave him “two thumbs up” and that as long as there were no new cases, they would assume that he had changed following his prior conviction.
Regardless, the case of Nur Fitri lays bare a problem that Malaysia has which hinders development: the right kinds of crime are socially accepted.
You can definitely thrive in Malaysia as a criminal
Not only will you be celebrated by Malaysians, but you can also be elected to high positions of office. The key is to be the right kind of person for it – we all know what that looks like here.
No matter what you’ve done, the sky’s the limit for those who can throw their ethics aside!
For more stories like this, read: You’re Not Rich Even If You Studied Overseas – The Brutal Truth About Malaysia’s REAL Rich, 5 Toxic Traits That Exist In Malaysian Culture, and The Brutal Truth About Corruption In Malaysia Where The Rakyat Continue To Be Poor.
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