Day 24
Malaysia
Former premier, Najib Razak, is appealing his 2020 conviction for corruption, abuse of power and money laundering. When he dismissed his long-time lawyer, and appointed a new one, they requested a postponement of the appeal trial which was turned down. The judges said they were unwilling to make the court wait just because of a last-minute change in lawyers. The new lawyer then refused to make the opening statement at the trial, as a protest over the short time he had to prepare, effectively leaving Mr. Najib unrepresented. It is unclear what the outcome will be. Pray that the judges will have wisdom and refuse to take part in legal games. Pray that justice will be the outcome. Pray for a new beginning for Malaysian politics, that does not include corruption (The Bible, Galatians 6:8).
Ismail Sabri Yaakob was recently appointed Prime Minister, the third in three years. Since the 2018 shock election victory over the coalition that had ruled the nation for the previous 60 years, the hoped-for changes were not forthcoming, and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic attracted considerable criticism, resulting in political instability. Ethnic and religious divides characterize this nation. Fundamentalist Muslims carry a significant presence in Malaysia. Over the past decade, the government conducted widespread crackdowns to silence, harass and lock up hundreds of critics. It was found that authorities were behind the kidnapping of Christian pastors and outspoken activists in the last 5 years. The outspoken wife of Pastor Raymond Koh who was kidnapped and disappeared in February 2017, Susanna Liew, was named the International Woman of the Year in 2020 by the Annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Awards.
