In about two weeks, Malaysians will know whether former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is convicted again for his role in what was dubbed one of the “biggest kleptocracy cases in the world”.
However, a study by Projek Sama found that Najib is only one of 21 former and current elected politicians who have been charged with corruption in 28 cases since 2018, when Pakatan Harapan was first elected on a promise of stamping out graft.
The Projek Sama study showed that the bulk of them - 11 out of 28 cases - ended in a discharge amounting to acquittal (DAA) for the politician involved, which equates to being found not guilty.
Of the 28 cases, five resulted in a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), where the accused is released but is not fully freed as they can still be charged again in the future.