Ex-Malaysian PM charged with abuse of power
Kuala Lumpur, July 4 : Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged on Wednesday in a court here for his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal, involving billions of dollars being embezzled from a government fund and fraudulently spent around the world.
He was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power in connection with funds from SRC International, a former subsidiary of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), reports Efe news.
The charges carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison. Najib, 64, was arrested on Tuesday at his residence in the capital, the 1MDB Task Force confirmed.
The former leader, who spent the night in prison, arrived to a media frenzy at the court early in the morning wearing a dark blue suit and a red and blue tie. His supporters were also waiting for him, holding placards reading "Respect civil rights #freenajib".
The arrest on Tuesday came following an investigation into how billions of dollars went missing from state fund 1MDB, which he founded.
The former leader has been accused of diverting around $681 million to his private accounts from 1MDB.
Najib has denied the allegations, saying the money was a donation from a Saudi prince, and he was cleared by Malaysian authorities while in power.
The case was reopened after Malaysia's change in government in May, and new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad banned his predecessor and wife Rosmah Mansor from leaving the country.
Najib and his wife have since testified before the anti-corruption commission. His stepson Riza Aziz also gave a statement at the commission on Tuesday.
Last week, Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Amar Singh said cash and luxury items taken in May from six properties linked to Najib are worth up to 1.1 billion ringgit ($273 million), describing it as the biggest seizure in Malaysian history.
Six other countries, including the US, Switzerland and Singapore, have opened judicial investigations into the 1MDB scandal.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
