COMMENT | Even as the US government’s criminal case against Goldman Sachs over 1MDB wound down to a close earlier this week, the stark problems that Malaysia faces over this greatest of kleptocracies continue to haunt the country.

While Goldman Sachs has not been sufficiently held accountable for their involvement in the scandal in the US, Malaysia’s problems mount as a pardon and house arrest for the main perpetrator Najib Abdul Razak continues unabated, spearheaded by the most corrupt party in Malaysia, Umno Baru.

On top of that, there is the issue of a lopsided deal in favour of Goldman Sachs which Malaysia signed making any further recovery of money from the US investment giant more bothersome. This deal is still under investigation by the MACC.

And then there is the slew of trials still taking place involving Najib...