Malaysia's leadership must clear up troubling controversies

NAJIB Razak has begun his seventh year as Malaysia's sixth prime minister. When he was sworn in on April 3, 2009, he could not have envisaged the current state of affairs that would besiege his administration.

Mr Najib began his premiership with relative gravitas with a slew of reforms, promising a more open political, social and economic environment. His well-meaning initial agenda, however, now faces the risk of being hijacked by troubling controversies.

They include a poorly managed state-backed firm, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), that is tottering under huge debts and losses; its accounts and operations are under a probe by the national auditor, following a string of allegations involving its business deals with Middle East parties. An old story has also been resurrected by critics: the 2006 murder of a Mongolian model, for which two former police commandos were convicted and sentenced to death (one of them fled to Australia). But the question of motive remains unanswered. Why was she killed? Were the commandos under orders? Who ordered the killing?