The Malaysian Insight

NAJIB Razak, convicted of power abuse and money laundering, and facing many charges, would not be so popular if Malaysians rediscovered their sense of right and wrong, said corruption watchdog founder Nurhayati Nordin.

“We have lost our sense of shame.

“It’s alright for us to recognise the good some people have done but to popularise them under such circumstances, we need to reflect,” the Rasuah Busters chief executive told The Malaysian Insight.

Nurhayati said she did not blame Najib as he has “the guts” to still move among the masses despite his conviction.

“Although we cannot blame this small group of leaders for taking advantage of us amidst the economic problems, we as the people should know better,” said the 47-year-old anti-graft activist when asked what she thought about Najib’s popularity among Malaysians during the recent Malacca and Johor state elections.

Nurhayati, who quit being a lawyer to lead Rasuah Busters, advocates fighting graft through education and awareness campaigns among grassroots Malaysians.

Rasuah Busters is approaching the anti-corruption battle by trying to change Malaysians’ “tolerance” for corruption.

Nurhayati said some people have lost their “sense of shame”.

“This is something we must address. At Rasuah Busters, we realise a sense of shame is very important and hence we target people’s value system.

“Being convicted by the second highest court in Malaysia is not a source of pride and Malaysians must know that it’s not their job to popularise him.

“They must ask themselves why they want to popularise those with that kind of image,” said Nurhayati.

She said that Malaysia has to rebuild its democracy by rekindling its “sense of honour”.

“We really shouldn’t support immoral actions that impoverish the country as only corrupt people elect corrupt leaders.”

Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and handed a RM210 million fine after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International funds. His appeal is pending at the Federal Court.

He also faces several other charges over the 1MDB scandal.

Despite facing trials, Najib has reinvented himself as “Bossku” to gain popularity with the people, attracting huge crowds everywhere he goes. – April 26, 2022.