THE 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal should be in school textbooks so that young Malaysians know to reject corruption, said PKR veteran Dr Syed Husin Ali.

The former Universiti Malaya lecturer said the scandal, dubbed the world’s worst case of kleptocracy, has cost the country “so much”, and so, should be included in the secondary school and university syllabi in efforts to combat graft.

Although the education system provides for civic and citizenship studies at the secondary school level to teach moral values, the latest corruption issues should also be included, he said.

He said youth should be exposed to current graft cases to help them understand the severity of such crimes.

“It is not enough to just teach them principles or the foundations of Islam. We must explain why we hate and are disgusted by corruption.

“Graft has caused the downfall of many societies and countries. The 1MDB case should be part of lessons,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The scandal, which implicates former prime minister Najib Razak and his family, was among the reasons that led to Barisan Nasional losing the 14th general election to Pakatan Harapan, marking the first time in the country’s history that an opposition pact won federal power.

Syed Husin said 1MDB is the biggest example of graft and abuse of power by leaders.

“Because of widespread corruption and abuse, we have this scandal that has harmed our economy and left us with a huge national debt.

“If Najib had retained the government, I don’t know what would happen,” said the former PKR deputy president.

Najib has so far been slapped with a total of 32 charges related to the 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion “donation” deposited into his personal bank accounts.

On Thursday, he was charged with four counts of corruption under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act over two transfers, amounting to RM2.6 billion, to his accounts in March 2013.

He was also slapped with 21 charges under anti-money laundering laws – nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, seven counts of transferring illegal proceeds to other entities and five counts of using illegal proceeds.

Last month, he was charged with three counts of money laundering, for allegedly receiving RM42 million in illegal proceeds linked to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.

In July, he was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power, also linked to SRC International. – September 22, 2018.