A top member of Malaysia’s ruling party has been charged with corruption while another has been investigated in the past week as the party heads for a critical annual meeting.
The new allegations put the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) under the spotlight but analysts said the moves only touched the surface and suggested corruption ran deeper in the party that has ruled for half a century.
On Friday, Norza Zakaria, a member of UMNO’s supreme council — its highest decision-making body — was charged with two counts of giving bribes worth 3,400 ringgit (US$900) to party members in January. Norza denies the charges and was released on bail pending trial.
Earlier in the week, Tourism Minister Azalina Othman Said’s office was also investigated after her political aide was found with 70,000 ringgit in a haul believed to be linked to vote-buying.
Azalina, who is also contesting a seat on the UMNO supreme council during the party elections scheduled for the end of the month, said she would cooperate with the authorities.
UMNO, which has ruled Malaysia since independence, asked the Anti-Corruption Agency last July to help it battle vote-buying ahead of the heated battle for top leadership positions.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said prime minister-in-waiting Najib Razak needed to pick a corruption-free Cabinet or risk having the party voted out of power.
“If Najib becomes prime minister and he chooses people who are known to be involved in money politics, he is signing his death warrant,” said Mahathir, according to the New Sunday Times.
James Chin, a political analyst at Monash University’s campus in Kuala Lumpur suggested the latest investigations were only the tip of the iceberg.
“All these are small fishes,” Chin said. “This is just one way of showing UMNO is serious about its anti-corruption drive and also a way to bring back some credibility to the Anti-Corruption Agency.”
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