Kleptocracy, strategic corruption, and defence policymaking: the impact of Najib Razak’s 1MDB scandal on Malaysia’s defence relationship with China (2015–2017)

ABSTRACT The interaction between kleptocracy, strategic corruption, and defence policymaking has not yet been sufficiently explored in the existing literature. Malaysia's turn towards China amidst the 1MDB scandal, despite Chinese claims to Malaysian waters and naval intrusions, provides an opportunity to study such a phenomenon. By examining the pressures exerted by the US and the strategic corruption pull by China upon Prime Minister Najib Razak's kleptocratic interests, this analysis highlighted the kleptocrat's strategies to change Malaysia's pro-Western defence policy. Through extensive interviews and secondary data, this study analyses the manipulation of Public Service Bargains as a critical variable influencing the kleptocrat's defence policymaking. It concludes that Najib's strategies transformed the established trustee-type of bargain in Malaysia's defence decision-making process to a kleptocratic type, enabling a closer relationship with China. This analysis contributes to the debate on kleptocracy's impact on smaller powers' defence relationships amidst the global expansion of China's strategic influence.