Malaysia’s ex-PM goes to prison

The nation lost P2 billion in an aborted transaction with Russia for the purchase of 16 Mi-17 helicopters. Just to refresh our memories, the Defense Department signed a deal with Russia for the choppers in November 2021. A down payment of P2 billion was made in January 2022. In March 2022, Secretary Lorenzana announced that the deal with Russia was still “on.” But suddenly, a few days before leaving office in June 2022, he announced that the government had cancelled the purchase, citing possible sanctions by the United States for violating a US law aimed at countering Iran, Russia and North Korea, specifically by imposing sanctions on countries that dealt with them.

There is little chance of getting a refund from Russia. Shouldn’t someone in government be held responsible and accountable for this billion-peso “boo-boo?”

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Najib Razak, former prime minister of Malaysia, is the eldest son of Abdul Razak, Malaysia’s second prime minister following Tungku Abdul Rahman. He is also the nephew of Hussain Onn, the country’s third prime minister. Truly a member of Malaysia’s political aristocracy, he probably believed he could get away with anything.

Najib was convicted in July 2020 on charges related to a corruption scandal involving state-owned wealth fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Some $9.4 million were found to be transferred from 1MDB into his private accounts. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for abuse of power but was out on bail pending an appeal with the High Court. This appeal has been found “devoid of any merit with the defense so inherently inconsistent and incredible that it has not raised reasonable doubt on the case.” Najib Razak begins serving a 12-year sentence although a royal pardon is still possible. Rosma Mansor, Najib’s wife, is also facing money laundering and tax evasion charges, along with another corruption charge related to a solar hybrid project, and the High Court is set to deliver its verdict on Sept. 1, 2022.

Jonathan Head, Southeast Asia correspondent for BBC News, called it “a big moment.” He added, “It is almost unheard of for a political figure as senior as Najib Razak to go to jail in a region where power is unaccountable and hierarchy rigidly enforced. Even President Suharto of Indonesia, who was forced to resign in 1998 after mass protests against his autocratic rule, never actually went to jail. Malaysia has shattered that taboo.”

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And in South Korea, not many people know that former South Korean president Park Geun-Hye has been released from prison on a presidential pardon. In April 2018, South Korean president Park Geun-Hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power. A few months later, her sentence was increased by seven years, for a total of 30 years’ imprisonment.

Park was the eldest daughter of Gen. Park Chung-Hee, the army general who seized power in a military coup d’etat in 1961 and served as president from 1963 to 1979. She was the first woman to be elected president of South Korea, serving from 2013 to 2017. In December 2016, Park was impeached by the Korean National Assembly on charges related to influence peddling by her top aide, Choi Sun-Sil. The Constitutional Court of South Korea upheld the impeachment, thereby removing Park from office. Later, she was also found guilty of taking funds from the National Intelligence Service.

After serving four years in prison, President Moon Jae-In announced that Park would receive a presidential pardon, citing “deteriorating health” and the need “to overcome unfortunate past history and promote national unity.” On Dec. 31, 2021, she was released from prison. While South Korea is one of the more stable democracies in East Asia, the fate of its former presidents have been distressing and dismal. President Park Chung Hee was assassinated by Korean CIA colleagues. His military successors Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo were sentenced to prison for massacres of civilians during their time in office. Others served time for various corruption charges. Some eventually were pardoned. Today, half of all living former South Korean presidents are in prison.

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In the Philippines under the banner of the Third Republic, we have had 13 presidents, to include the incumbent Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Two died in office, Manuel Roxas and Ramon Magsaysay. Only three former presidents are still living: Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. The only Philippine president who was convicted and imprisoned was Joseph Estrada. However, he was allowed the comforts of his farm in Tanay or the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for confinement. He was later pardoned by president Arroyo. In the case of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, while she was never convicted of the charges against her, she was under house arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.

Considering how far behind the Philippines is, compared to Malaysia and South Korea in terms of economic development, perhaps it is worthwhile to remember what former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew expressed during a visit to Manila in 1992. At the 18th annual Philippine Business Conference, he declared, “I do not believe democracy necessarily leads to development. I believe what a country needs to develop is discipline rather than democracy.”

LKY went on to describe Philippine culture: “It is a soft, forgiving culture.”

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