FOR Malaysians who still do not believe that Najib Razak will see the inside of a jail, the manner of last night’s police raid at the former prime minister’s home ‎should erase some of that scepticism. 

A phalanx of police officers arrived at the bungalow in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur after 10pm and stayed for eight hours, going through every corner of the house. Cupboards and drawers containing personal effects and clothes were checked.

No area of the house was off-limits to police personnel investigating ‎offences related to the 1MDB scandal. 

Najib – who only a week ago had the Inspector-General of Police Fuzi Harun on speed dial and the entire Royal Malaysian Police Force at his disposal – got a taste of what his life is going to be like for the next few days before charges are brought against him under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Why this Act? Because it is a wide-ranging enough to cover a raft of offences including the suspicious depositing of funds in a bank account.

The cops were respectful but no special privileges were accorded to Najib or Rosmah Mansor as the raid stretched into the early hours of this morning. Police personnel only left the house after 5.30am – just before the start of the fast on the first day of Ramadan.

No former prime minister has had to suffer the humiliation of a Black Maria truck outside his house – a vehicle that screams tough police action – and a systematic search through his personal belongings.

Najib is facing the perfect storm. 

He is facing a new administration keen to make the rule of law the cornerstone of its institutional reforms; ‎he is facing a Malaysian public baying for blood and he is facing a prime minister who understands that going strong against Najib will be popular with the masses and will buy the Dr Mahathir administration time for more challenging election promises to be met.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has so far knocked back requests from connected individuals on working out an amicable solution with Najib. A few of these requests have been made by individuals Dr Mahathir respects but the answer is always the same: No deal.

Several of Najib’s friends are still working the back channels with foreign governments, hoping that a foreign leader will be able to intercede with Dr Mahathir for Najib to be allowed to leave Malaysia.

But any call for leniency is likely to be met with a firm “No” from Dr Mahathir.

The eight-hour police dissection of the former prime minister’s home was a signal to Malaysians and the rest of the world that Najib will not be given a sweetheart deal.

If anything, he should expect little from a government keen to burnish its reform credentials. – May 17, 2018.