Malaysia must brace itself for a tumultuous Year of the Fire Monkey

Kuala Lumpur

THIS Chinese new year is the Year of the Fire Monkey and if fortune-tellers and soothsayers are to be believed, Malaysia needs to brace itself for tumultuous times.

The hope is that the mischievous simian swings in with more highs than lows and going by the ringgit which has shrunk about a third over the past 18 months, hong baos are likely to be much smaller this year.

With his popularity already at an all-time low and credibility tarnished owing to scandals linked to state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the economy and ringgit's performance will be instrumental to how Prime Minister Najib Razak rides out the year.

Born in the Year of the Water Snake and also holding the finance portfolio, Mr Najib appeared to have been given an early hong bao when Attorney-General (A-G) Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared him of criminal wrongdoing in the now-infamous controversial deposit of US$681 million into his personal bank accounts in 2013 as well as misappropriation of funds involving SRC International, previously a subsidiary of 1…