The rule of law isn’t so much about the absence of abuse of power – it’s about the absence of impunity. That’s why Malaysians can be gratified with the guilty verdict handed down against their former prime minister Najib Razak, who on July 28 was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 210 million ringgit ($70 million) on charges relating to his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

The 1MDB state-owned wealth fund was established by Najib’s government in 2009 to spearhead investment in new industries in Malaysia. Instead, it became a slush fund for the prime minister and his cronies, with an estimated $US4.5 billion being misappropriated for private purposes.