The 'teflon' non-stick nature of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak got a second mention today, this time from DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, who lamented that despite so many scandals, the prime minister is still able to hang on to his seat.

"Is Najib getting stronger and stronger with scandal after scandal?" the Gelang Patah MP asked in a statement.

Lim said Najib’s victory in forcing the resignation of Mukhriz Mahathir as Kedah menteri besar probably amounts to a “10 versus 0” score for Najib against his foes in the past six months.

He listed Najib's nine other 'victories' in the six-month time period:

  • Sacking of deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and rural and regional development minister Shafie Apdal;

  • Sacking of Abdul Gani Patail as attorney-general;

  • Scuttling the Special Task Force on 1MDB;

  • Arrests, immediate transfers or intimidation of key officials in Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara, police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission looking into 1MDB;

  • Sabotage of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee investigations into 1MDB;

  • Sidestepping the Malay rulers’ statement on Oct 6 last year, calling to expedite 1MDB investigations and subsequent action against all found to be implicated;

  • Heading off a move to topple him from his post of prime minister by way of statutory declarations by Members of Parliament;

  • Breach of the promise by the prime minister himself that his twin mega scandals would be resolved by the end of last year; and

  • The attorney-general’s exoneration of Najib of any wrongdoing or crime in both the RM2.6 billion donation and RM42 million SRC International scandals.

    • "It is indeed a great paradox in Malaysian politics that Najib seems to be getting stronger and stronger despite “scandal after scandal," Lim said.

    Najib has come under tremendous pressure to step down, with allegations after allegations hounding him as the local media, dissidents and critics continue to call for him to be held accountable.

    Even the foreign press has jumped into the fray, running exposé after exposé into the PM's alleged improprieties, and global bodies noting Najib's governance as having a tendency to put the screws on freedoms and persecute critics.

    Najib is no stranger to scandal, having managed to wriggle out of previous scandals connected to corruption in a submarine purchase deal and the murder of a Mongolian national linked to the same transaction.

    And as Lim noted, the 'teflon' PM still appears to be stronger and more securely in place than ever.