US Edition 
Profile: Najib Razak
To Najib Razak the Malaysian premiership may feel like a birthright.
His father was the country’s second prime minister and his uncle was the third.
After completing his education at Malvern Boys College in Worcestershire and an economics degree at Nottingham, Mr Najib became his country’s youngest member of parliament at the age of 22.
He is the insider’s insider and when a vacancy arose at the helm of the United Malays National Organisation, which has controlled Malaysia since 1957, Mr Najib was last week elected unopposed.
Yet Mr Najib faces criticism from many Malaysians.
“There are questions involving corruption, particularly involving submarines and defence contracts, which continue to haunt him,” said Bridget Welsh of America’s Johns Hopkins University.
Mr Najib denies any wrongdoing.
More than anything else, his reputation has been damaged by the murder of a beautiful young Mongolian woman in 2006.
Altantuya Shaaribuu, 28, was making a scene outside the home of her lover, a close associate of Mr Najib, when she was abducted. She was allegedly demanding her share of the kickback on a corrupt submarine deal.
Two of Mr Najib’s elite police bodyguards admitted driving her to a jungle clearing where she was shot dead before her body was destroyed with military explosives.
Her lover, Abdul Baginda, was acquitted of any role in the killing but the trial of Mr Najib’s two police bodyguards continues.
There have been a string of allegations attempting to link Mr Najib to the crime, which he vehemently denies. “They are malicious, baseless lies. I have given my replies but they persist because it a ploy by the opposition,” he insists.
No proof of Mr Najib’s involvement has been produced.
Nevertheless, in the absence of a transparent legal inquiry many questions remain. Who ordered the killing, and who had the power to erase the victim’s immigration records? No answers are forthcoming.
Whatever the truth, the political damage to Mr Najib has been real. At opposition rallies people parade with model submarines and an MP was recently removed from parliament for accusing Mr Najib over the affair.