Highlights of 2016 and what to expect in 2017

This has been a year of the unexpected, with rampant political realignments fuelled by allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds from the beleaguered state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Singapore has convicted three bankers in 1MDB-related cases in the past two months while the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated a civil action suit in July seeking the forfeiture of assets they claimed were stolen from 1MDB.

However, University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute director James Chin pointed out that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was never mentioned by name in any of these cases.

“Since 2015, the (1MDB) scandal came out and people were saying he is on borrowed time, but he managed to survive the whole year.

“(So) the most significant political event (this year) is the fact that Najib stayed in power,” Chin said to Malaysiakini.

Despite this, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) senior lecturer Ahmad Atory Hussain believes that leadership problems concerning Najib had been the most significant political development in the country.