KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s scandal-plagued former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak may be stripped of his MP status and barred from standing in elections should he be declared bankrupt.
Najib is facing bankruptcy for allegedly failing to pay more than US$400 million (RM1.69 billion) in taxes, which could bring his political career to an end.
He lost power in 2018, when his party, which had governed the Southeast Asian nation for six decades, was defeated at the polls after he became embroiled in a financial scandal.
The leader is accused of stealing billions of dollars from state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), and has since been convicted and sentenced to 12 years’ jail in the first of several trials he is facing over the fraud.
Last year, a court ordered Najib – who remains free on bail and is still an MP – to pay RM1.69 billion in taxes owed between 2011 and 2017.
Late Tuesday, the 67-year-old said tax officials issued a notice demanding he settle the bill, plus additional costs, otherwise they will launch bankruptcy proceedings.
He insisted that he has always paid his taxes, and that the case against him is politically motivated.
“I will continue to stand up and fight against every attempt to bully and intimidate me by those in power,” he wrote on Facebook, adding that he has asked his lawyers to try to halt proceedings.
The tax office declined to comment.
The prospect of bankruptcy comes as different factions battle for control of Najib’s party, Umno, of which he remains an influential member.
Despite his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, Najib is still a popular figure, with more than four million Facebook followers.
He began an appeal against his conviction over the scandal last year, and denies any wrongdoing. – AFP, April 7, 2021
