KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition coalition has pledged to axe an unpopular good and services tax and reopen investigations into a multibillion-dollar financial scandal linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak if it wins the next elections.
The Hope Alliance, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, also promised to clip the powers of the prime minister, revive fuel subsidies and a slew of economic reforms as part of its manifesto for polls due by August but widely expected in the second quarter.
At 92, Mahathir will be the world’s oldest prime minister if the opposition wins but he promised to hand over the reins once his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim is released from prison in June and able to take over. Analysts say the opposition faces an uphill battle due to party infighting, unfavorable electoral boundary changes and strong support for the government from rural ethnic Malays.
Support for Najib’s ruling National Front coalition has dwindled in the last two elections as he struggled with an epic corruption scandal that involved hundreds of millions of dollars believed linked to the 1MDB state fund passing through his bank accounts. In 2013, the coalition lost the national popular vote for the first time to the opposition.
The U.S. and several other countries are investigating allegations of cross-border embezzlement and money laundering at 1MDB, which was set up and previously led by Najib to promote economic development but which accumulated billions in debt. Malaysia’s attorney-general cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in 2016.
