Quora Answer: With Mahathir bin Mohamed Back in Power, Will Malaysia Still be as Corrupt as When Mohammed Najib bin Abdul Razak was in Power, or Worse?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “With Mahathir bin Mohamed back in power, will Malaysia still be as corrupt as when Mohammed Najib bin Abdul Razak was in power, or will it be worse?”

Mahathir bin Mohamed is not any better than Mohammed Najib bin Abdul Razak; but at least he knows how to keep decorum, and not allow institutionalised corruption to devolve into an outright kleptocracy.  We have to remember that everything Najib became, he learned from Mahathir.  Mahathir was also Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance before.  Mahathir campaigned for Najib to replace Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi.  Mahathir originally made Najib Defence Minister, and saw no problem when F-18 engines disappeared.

Mahathir saw an opportunity, and came back because Najib overstepped the boundaries, and interfered in business interests that Mahathir had with Syed Mokhtar Shah bin Syed Nor Albukhary.  It was lucrative incestuous relationships between select business interests and politicians that made Mokhzani bin Mahathir the 14^th richest Malaysian, at one time, and that is only what is declared.

There is a wealth of literature and investigative journalism about Mahathir’s version of kleptocracy.  This current government will slowly become business as usual, and the legacy that Mahathir leaves behind is one of a wasted opportunity to make Malaysia truly developed.