Najib, sitting in his KL mansion, may save Rafizi a Melaka knockout

Detailed summary

NOVEMBER 12 — As they say, the universe works in mysterious ways.Rafizi Ramli and his merry men — and women — in the old streets of Melaka are about to be recipients of...

Rafizi Ramli and his merry men — and women — in the old streets of Melaka are about to be recipients of electoral fortune from Najib Razak’s home arrest.

In a reversal of fate, one of the key architects of Najib’s demise in 2018 has a chance to resuscitate his flailing party, Bersama, as a result of the former prime minister’s departure from Kajang Prison.

In fact, the drawn-out “does paying RM50 million end the jail term altogether?” fiasco has only sleazed up perceptions leading to voting on November 14, in Bersama’s favour.

On November 6 — as if competing with the opening of Tamil thriller Jailer 2 starring Superstar Rajnikanth for Deepavali — despite initial denials, Team Najib paid the required fine. RM50 million is no loose change but the folks pooled it to get their man to his KL mansion.

These were initially set off on September 18, 2026 by the Pardons Board under the Yang DiPertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, almost two months prior.

But how does the Najib move benefit Bersama? To understand that, a circuitous past damaged DAP is necessary.

Go directly to jail in Kajang, do not pass Go, do not pay RM50 million

Pakatan’s 2018 victory relied partially on forcing a reckoning for the 1MDB scandal, unearthed by players in and out of the country. Mahathir Mohamad called Najib a thief throughout the campaign, and DAP was closely behind him.

It was euphoria for DAP that Najib saw the inside of the jail cell while an Umno prime minister was in charge in August 2022. That they were in the Opposition did not dampen the schadenfreude they felt witnessing Najib in prison.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Malay Mail. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.