Malaysia's human rights situation "markedly deteriorated" over the past year, according to Human Rights Watch's (HRW) World Report 2017.

"The Malaysian government has responded to corruption allegations by throwing respect for rights out of the window.

"The downward slide in rights protections that started after the 2013 election and accelerated during the past year as the number of tough questions increased about Najib's alleged involvement in the 1MDB scandal.