Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak vowed on Thursday [10 December] to remain in power despite a public clamor for him to step down over a corruption scandal.

Mindful of growing dissent within his own party, the ruling United Malays National Organization, a defiant Najib took to the stage at UMNO annual general assembly to protest his innocence and denounce his critics.

In a speech in front of over 2,700 delegates and guests including his chief critic former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the besieged UMNO President said of the corruption scandal, “I am on the side of the righteous and the truth will prevail.”

Najib has been under attack following an expose by the Wall Street Journal on July 3 that claimed he pocketed nearly 700 million dollars from companies linked to heavily indebted state investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, where he chairs the advisory board and where, as finance minister, he also oversees the fund.

… Political watcher Yang Razali Kassim, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, opined that grassroots sentiment could be hard to read due to the climate of fear as several vocal members who dared to speak out against Najib had faced the sack.