Malaysia’s political crisis: silence and turbulences

Since 2015, Malaysia is mired in a political crisis that was prompted by a world-scale corruption scandal. Facing these turbulences, Prime Minister Najib Razak allegedly received no less than US$ 1 billion from a sovereign fund – « 1MDB » – he himself set up and presided. 1MDB is now close to bankruptcy. In place of apology, Najib’s government forged ahead: it silenced its critics by an intensive use of draconian regulations and now plays the racial and religious cards in prevision of a hotly contested general election. Such an evolution will probably spill over national borders, but with what impact?