In Southeast Asian politics, impunity reigns

February was a pretty good month for Southeast Asian politicians wanting to evade accountability. On Feb. 2, Malaysia's disgraced former prime minister, Najib Razak, learned that his 12-year prison sentence for corruption was being cut in half. Najib is now eligible for release in 2026 - in time for the next general election - after being convicted of one of the biggest financial thefts of the century, involving billions of dollars missing from a state investment fund. Malaysians were understandably outraged, with one lawyer calling the decision a "slap in the face for justice." [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]