JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
UP TO DAY 523 OF MH370 STORIES
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/day-1-atr42-300-twin-turboprop-trigana.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 67 TO 91 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/06/day-91-mh370-777-200er-missing-plane.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 47 TO 66 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/05/day-66-mh370-777-200er-missing-plane.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 33 TO 46 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/04/day-47-mh370-777-2000er-missing-plane.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 01 TO 32 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/04/day-32-mh370-missing-plane-they-may.html
MH 777-17 STORIES-RUSSIA DOWNS JETLINER
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/08/mh370-2-arrested-for-stealing-20000.html
MH17 MANAFESTO
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/content/dam/malaysia-airlines/mas/PDF/MH17/MH17%20PAX%20AND%20CREW%20MANIFEST%20200714.pdf
AIRASIA FLIGHT QZ8501 STORIES I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/airasia-flight-qz-8501-missing-on-way_14.html
ATR42-300 INDONESIAN JET THAT CRASHED STORIES I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/day-2-atr42-300-twin-turboprop-trigana.html (DAY-02)
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/day-1-atr42-300-twin-turboprop-trigana.html (DAY-01)
TRIGANA AIR SERVICE
http://www.trigana-air.com/
ATR-42-300
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20150816-0
http://www.aviationexplorer.com/atr_42_aircraft_facts.html
http://planes.axlegeeks.com/l/368/ATR-42-300
INDONESIAN TRIGANA TGN267 CARRYING 54 PEOPLE DISAPPEARS WHILE FLYING IN REMOTE PAPUA NEW GUINEA REGION. -pic-trigana air
UPDATE-AUGUST 18,2015-12:00AM
YESTERDAY THE SEARCH WAS CALLED OFF FOR THE 54 CITIZENS IN THE ATR42-300 PLANE CRASH IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA-INDONESIAN MOUNTAIN BORDER AREA.SEE IF THERE ARE ANY SURVIVORS TODAY.
Crashed Indonesian plane was carrying nearly $500,000 in cash-Reuters By Hidayat Setiaji and Fergus Jensen-aug 17,15-yahoonews
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian passenger plane that crashed with 54 people on board in Papua province was carrying cash worth around $470,000 for remote villages, a post office spokesman said on Monday as rescue teams headed to the mountainous site where it went down.The Trigana Air Service ATR 42-300 plane crashed on Sunday, the latest in a string of aviation disasters in the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago.Earlier, a search and rescue plane spotted debris believed to be from the aircraft in the heavily forested Bintang Mountains district, local police chief Yunus Wally told the Antara news agency, adding that a search team was approaching the area.There were 44 adult passengers, five children and infants and five crew on the Trigana short-haul flight from Sentani Airport in Jayapura, capital of Papua, south to Oksibil.All those on the plane were Indonesian nationals, a National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) official said.Airline officials were not immediately available to respond to questions from Reuters.There was no suggestion that the large sum of money being transported on the plane was linked to its crash."There were four people carrying the money, 6.5 billion rupiah ($471,500)," PT Pos spokesman Abu Sofjan said, adding that it was part of an official assistance program for the poor and was intended to be distributed to villagers. He said poor infrastructure in Indonesia's easternmost province meant that assistance money was often flown in by air.A Super Puma helicopter crashed in the same area last year, said Sito, a BASARNAS communications operator in Jayapura who goes by one name. "It's the weather there, it changes all the time. In the morning it can be clear and hot and then suddenly it rains," Sito said.The crashed ATR 42-300 made its first flight 27 years ago, according to the Aviation Safety Network. Trigana Air Service has a fleet of 14 aircraft, with an average age of 26.6 years, according to the airfleets.com database.Trigana has been on the European Union's list of banned carriers since 2007 due to safety or regulatory concerns.It has had 14 serious incidents since it began operations in 1991, according to the online database Aviation Safety Network.Excluding the latest crash, it has written off 10 aircraft.Indonesia has a patchy aviation safety record and has seen two major plane crashes in the past year, including an AirAsia flight that went down in the Java Sea, killing all 162 on board.Indonesia's president promised a review of the aging air force fleet in July after a military transport plane crashed, killing more than 100 people.(Writing by Nicholas Owen; Editing by John Chalmers and Jeremy Laurence)
$470,000 in cash aboard Indonesian plane that crashed-Associated Press By ALFIAN KARTONO-AUG 17,15-YAHOONEWS
JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — A passenger plane with 54 people on board that crashed in the mountains of eastern Indonesia was carrying nearly half a million dollars in government cash for poor families to help offset a spike in fuel prices, a local postal official said Monday.Smoldering wreckage of the Trigana Air Service turboprop plane was spotted from the air Monday morning in a rugged area of the easternmost province of Papua, rescue officials said. There was no immediate word if there were any survivors from Sunday's crash, which happened in bad weather.Four postal workers aboard the plane were escorting four bags of cash totaling $468,750 in government fuel aid money, Haryono, the head of the post office in Jayapura, the provincial capital, told The Associated Press.The ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane was flying from Jayapura to the city of Oksibil when it lost contact. Transportation Ministry spokesman Julius Barata said there was no indication that the pilot had made a distress call.The cash from the Social Affairs Ministry was to be distributed among poor people in remote areas to cushion the jump in fuel costs, said Haryono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name."They were carrying those bags (of cash) to be handed out to poor people in Oksibil through a post office there," Haryono said.President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration raised fuel prices late last year and slashed government subsidies, a move the government says will save the country billions of dollars but has already sparked angry protests around the country.Officials said the wreckage was spotted about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Oksibil. Henry Bambang Soelistyo, the chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said search and rescue teams were preparing to try to reach the crash site by air and foot.The plane was carrying 49 passengers and five crew members on a scheduled 42-minute flight. Five children, including two infants, were among the passengers."Smoke was still billowing from the wreckage when it was spotted by a plane search," said Soelistyo who is leading the rescue operation from Sentani Airport in Jayapura, adding that bad weather and rugged terrain were hampering efforts to reach the wreckage located in a mountainous area at an altitude of 2,600 meters (about 8,500 feet).He said elite forces from the air force and army will build a helipad for evacuation purposes near the crash site. Much of Papua is covered with impenetrable jungles and mountains. Some planes that have crashed in the past have never been found.Search planes went into the air early Monday after residents of a village not far from Oksibil told local police that they saw a plane flying low before crashing into a mountain, said Ludiyanto, who heads the search and rescue operation from Jayapura.The airline's crisis center official in Jayapura's Sentani airport, Budiono, said all the passengers are Indonesians and there were nine names on the initial passenger manifest were eventually replaced by other persons — a common practice among small domestic airlines in the country.Budiono also said that among the passengers were three local government officials and two members of the local parliament who were to attend a ceremony Monday in Oksibil marking the 70th anniversary of Indonesia's independence from Dutch colonial rule.Oksibil, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) south of Jayapura, was experiencing heavy rain, strong winds and fog when the plane lost contact with the airport minutes before it was scheduled to land.Widodo said in a statement ahead of Indonesia's 70th independence anniversary ceremony that he was calling "for a moment of silence and pray for the crew and passengers ahead of our independence anniversary."European plane maker ATR said in a statement late Sunday that it "acknowledges the reported loss of contact" with the Trigana flight "and is standing by to support the relevant aviation authorities." ATR, based in Toulouse, France, makes regional planes with 90 seats or less.Indonesia has had a string of airline tragedies in recent years. In December, all 162 people aboard an AirAsia jet were killed when the plane plummeted into the Java Sea as it flew through stormy weather on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore.The sprawling archipelago nation of 250 million people and some 17,000 islands is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding airline markets, but it is struggling to provide enough qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety.From 2007 to 2009, the European Union barred Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe because of safety concerns.Trigana Air Service, which commenced operations in 1991, had 22 aircraft as of December 2013 and flies to 21 destinations in Indonesia.___Associated Press writers Nini Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
Malaysian leader silences critics, media to survive scandal-Associated Press By EILEEN NG-August 16, 2015 1:18 AM-YAHOONEWS
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's prime minister has a problem: He can't explain away a $700 million bank account to a skeptical public.His response? A crackdown on critics and the press that has kept him in power but doesn't address a deep reservoir of dissatisfaction with his leadership.Less than a month after leaked documents suggested that $700 million from entities linked to debt-ridden state investment fund 1MDB was funneled into Prime Minister Najib Razak's accounts, he has expelled critics in his government, sacked the attorney-general probing him, suspended two newspapers, blocked a UK-based website and stalled investigations over the scandal.It is the first time a Malaysian leader has faced criminal allegations, and news of possible graft at the top level has gripped the country. It is also the biggest political crisis for Najib since he took power in 2009. Concerns over 1MDB also contributed to the Malaysian currency plunging to a 17-year low beyond 4 ringgit to the dollar on Wednesday."Malaysia's leader is still facing a legitimacy crisis with declining domestic support," said Bridget Welsh, senior research associate at the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies at the National Taiwan University.The message being sent is that Najib's leadership is moving further toward a hardline trajectory, she said. "History shows that crackdowns, arrests and threats backfire, and are at best temporary measures that fail to address the underlying demands for a better Malaysia."A nation of 30 million, Malaysia is predominantly Malay Muslim with significant Chinese and Indian minorities. It is a U.S. ally in Southeast Asia and one of the region's lynchpin economies, with ambitions to rise from middle income status to developed nation level this decade. Najib's increasing authoritarianism is a setback for the hopes of many Malaysians that their country was slowly embracing elements of liberal democracy.In a new twist last week, the anti-graft agency said the money was donations from the Middle East, and unrelated to 1MDB. Najib, who insists he has never used government funds for personal gain, then said he received the money on behalf of his ruling Malay party, with much of it going toward "social responsibility" programs.While the explanation has seemingly cleared Najib of corruption claims, it didn't mollify critics nor improve his public image. On the contrary, it raised new questions over who in the Middle East would donate such a huge sum and whether it came with conditions. It also didn't answer the mystery over why it landed in Najib's accounts.Electoral reform group, Bersih, is planning mass rallies at the end of August, on the weekend of Malaysia's Independence Day, to demand Najib's resignation but police have warned of a crackdown. Najib has also indicated he may crack the whip further, saying recently that laws regulating Internet content need to be tightened to prevent "trial by the social media" against the government.The scandal started with investigations into 1MDB, which was set up in 2009 by Najib to develop new industries. But in just six years, it amassed 42 billion ($10.6 billion) in debt after its energy ventures abroad faltered. Critics have long voiced concern over its massive debt and lack of transparency. Najib still chairs its advisory board.Police, meanwhile, have gone on a witch-hunt to determine who leaked the documents showing transfers to Najib's accounts. Police have questioned nine members of the anti-graft agency, seven central bank officials and have said they may also question central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.Despite the crisis, Najib has strengthened his footing in his United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, and taken full control of the government by placing loyalists in key positions. UMNO is the linchpin of the National Front coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.Support for the National Front has eroded in the last two general elections. In 2013, it won the polls but lost the popular vote for the first time to the opposition alliance led by Anwar Ibrahim, who is now in prison after being convicted of sodomizing an aide in a case widely regarded as politically motivated. UMNO is entrenched as the defender of majority ethnic Malays, protecting their rights through decades-old affirmative action policies favoring Malays in jobs, education and government contracts — and this is hard to dislodge, analysts said."This party has captured the state institutions and machinery and that's why they can control everything," said James Chin, who heads the Asia Institute in Australia's University of Tasmania."In Malay political culture, a strong leader is feared and admired, and that's how Najib is selling himself, as a strongman," Chin said.The 62-year-old Najib, whose father and uncle were the country's second and third prime ministers respectively, was educated in Britain. He returned to work for the central bank and the national oil company but was unexpectedly thrust into politics when his father, then-Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein, died in 1976.At age 22, he was Malaysia's youngest lawmaker ever at the time and patiently worked his way to the top. He speaks impeccable English and seen as modern: he has his own blog and is an avid social media user.Since becoming premier, Najib has battled criticism over his management of the economy, his family's lavish lifestyle and association with the killers of a Mongolian model nine years ago. Najib has said he had nothing to do with the model. Two security officers linked to Najib at the time were found guilty of her murder.One of his most vocal critics is former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power. Mahathir has called for Najib to resign over the 1MDB affair, warning there was "something rotten" in the government.Najib's own brother, Nazir Razak, who heads Malaysia's second largest banking group CIMB, has also echoed concerns over the country's future. In an Instagram post last month, Nazir said "in this darkest hour of political times, we must remember to place the country and the (people) first. Not personal interests, not personal loyalties, not even party politics."Ibrahim Suffian, who heads the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, said UMNO and other National Front parties have rallied behind Najib because they fear the 1MDB crisis could sink the government.The controversy over 1MDB came at a time of economic slowdown as falling commodity prices hurt Malaysia's export-driven economy and government revenue. The public is also grappling with higher cost of living due to a new goods and services tax imposed in April.Chin from the University of Tasmania said Najib is more focused on consolidating power, than fixing the economy."Najib has the upper hand now but if the economy sours further, it could spell trouble for him."
UP TO DAY 523 OF MH370 STORIES
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/day-1-atr42-300-twin-turboprop-trigana.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 67 TO 91 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/06/day-91-mh370-777-200er-missing-plane.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 47 TO 66 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/05/day-66-mh370-777-200er-missing-plane.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 33 TO 46 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/04/day-47-mh370-777-2000er-missing-plane.html
LINKS FROM DAYS 01 TO 32 ABOUT MH370-777-200ER SEARCH
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/04/day-32-mh370-missing-plane-they-may.html
MH 777-17 STORIES-RUSSIA DOWNS JETLINER
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/08/mh370-2-arrested-for-stealing-20000.html
MH17 MANAFESTO
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/content/dam/malaysia-airlines/mas/PDF/MH17/MH17%20PAX%20AND%20CREW%20MANIFEST%20200714.pdf
AIRASIA FLIGHT QZ8501 STORIES I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/airasia-flight-qz-8501-missing-on-way_14.html
ATR42-300 INDONESIAN JET THAT CRASHED STORIES I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/day-2-atr42-300-twin-turboprop-trigana.html (DAY-02)
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2015/08/day-1-atr42-300-twin-turboprop-trigana.html (DAY-01)
TRIGANA AIR SERVICE
http://www.trigana-air.com/
ATR-42-300
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20150816-0
http://www.aviationexplorer.com/atr_42_aircraft_facts.html
http://planes.axlegeeks.com/l/368/ATR-42-300
INDONESIAN TRIGANA TGN267 CARRYING 54 PEOPLE DISAPPEARS WHILE FLYING IN REMOTE PAPUA NEW GUINEA REGION. -pic-trigana air
UPDATE-AUGUST 18,2015-12:00AM
YESTERDAY THE SEARCH WAS CALLED OFF FOR THE 54 CITIZENS IN THE ATR42-300 PLANE CRASH IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA-INDONESIAN MOUNTAIN BORDER AREA.SEE IF THERE ARE ANY SURVIVORS TODAY.
Crashed Indonesian plane was carrying nearly $500,000 in cash-Reuters By Hidayat Setiaji and Fergus Jensen-aug 17,15-yahoonews
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian passenger plane that crashed with 54 people on board in Papua province was carrying cash worth around $470,000 for remote villages, a post office spokesman said on Monday as rescue teams headed to the mountainous site where it went down.The Trigana Air Service ATR 42-300 plane crashed on Sunday, the latest in a string of aviation disasters in the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago.Earlier, a search and rescue plane spotted debris believed to be from the aircraft in the heavily forested Bintang Mountains district, local police chief Yunus Wally told the Antara news agency, adding that a search team was approaching the area.There were 44 adult passengers, five children and infants and five crew on the Trigana short-haul flight from Sentani Airport in Jayapura, capital of Papua, south to Oksibil.All those on the plane were Indonesian nationals, a National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) official said.Airline officials were not immediately available to respond to questions from Reuters.There was no suggestion that the large sum of money being transported on the plane was linked to its crash."There were four people carrying the money, 6.5 billion rupiah ($471,500)," PT Pos spokesman Abu Sofjan said, adding that it was part of an official assistance program for the poor and was intended to be distributed to villagers. He said poor infrastructure in Indonesia's easternmost province meant that assistance money was often flown in by air.A Super Puma helicopter crashed in the same area last year, said Sito, a BASARNAS communications operator in Jayapura who goes by one name. "It's the weather there, it changes all the time. In the morning it can be clear and hot and then suddenly it rains," Sito said.The crashed ATR 42-300 made its first flight 27 years ago, according to the Aviation Safety Network. Trigana Air Service has a fleet of 14 aircraft, with an average age of 26.6 years, according to the airfleets.com database.Trigana has been on the European Union's list of banned carriers since 2007 due to safety or regulatory concerns.It has had 14 serious incidents since it began operations in 1991, according to the online database Aviation Safety Network.Excluding the latest crash, it has written off 10 aircraft.Indonesia has a patchy aviation safety record and has seen two major plane crashes in the past year, including an AirAsia flight that went down in the Java Sea, killing all 162 on board.Indonesia's president promised a review of the aging air force fleet in July after a military transport plane crashed, killing more than 100 people.(Writing by Nicholas Owen; Editing by John Chalmers and Jeremy Laurence)
$470,000 in cash aboard Indonesian plane that crashed-Associated Press By ALFIAN KARTONO-AUG 17,15-YAHOONEWS
JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — A passenger plane with 54 people on board that crashed in the mountains of eastern Indonesia was carrying nearly half a million dollars in government cash for poor families to help offset a spike in fuel prices, a local postal official said Monday.Smoldering wreckage of the Trigana Air Service turboprop plane was spotted from the air Monday morning in a rugged area of the easternmost province of Papua, rescue officials said. There was no immediate word if there were any survivors from Sunday's crash, which happened in bad weather.Four postal workers aboard the plane were escorting four bags of cash totaling $468,750 in government fuel aid money, Haryono, the head of the post office in Jayapura, the provincial capital, told The Associated Press.The ATR42-300 twin turboprop plane was flying from Jayapura to the city of Oksibil when it lost contact. Transportation Ministry spokesman Julius Barata said there was no indication that the pilot had made a distress call.The cash from the Social Affairs Ministry was to be distributed among poor people in remote areas to cushion the jump in fuel costs, said Haryono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name."They were carrying those bags (of cash) to be handed out to poor people in Oksibil through a post office there," Haryono said.President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration raised fuel prices late last year and slashed government subsidies, a move the government says will save the country billions of dollars but has already sparked angry protests around the country.Officials said the wreckage was spotted about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Oksibil. Henry Bambang Soelistyo, the chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said search and rescue teams were preparing to try to reach the crash site by air and foot.The plane was carrying 49 passengers and five crew members on a scheduled 42-minute flight. Five children, including two infants, were among the passengers."Smoke was still billowing from the wreckage when it was spotted by a plane search," said Soelistyo who is leading the rescue operation from Sentani Airport in Jayapura, adding that bad weather and rugged terrain were hampering efforts to reach the wreckage located in a mountainous area at an altitude of 2,600 meters (about 8,500 feet).He said elite forces from the air force and army will build a helipad for evacuation purposes near the crash site. Much of Papua is covered with impenetrable jungles and mountains. Some planes that have crashed in the past have never been found.Search planes went into the air early Monday after residents of a village not far from Oksibil told local police that they saw a plane flying low before crashing into a mountain, said Ludiyanto, who heads the search and rescue operation from Jayapura.The airline's crisis center official in Jayapura's Sentani airport, Budiono, said all the passengers are Indonesians and there were nine names on the initial passenger manifest were eventually replaced by other persons — a common practice among small domestic airlines in the country.Budiono also said that among the passengers were three local government officials and two members of the local parliament who were to attend a ceremony Monday in Oksibil marking the 70th anniversary of Indonesia's independence from Dutch colonial rule.Oksibil, some 280 kilometers (175 miles) south of Jayapura, was experiencing heavy rain, strong winds and fog when the plane lost contact with the airport minutes before it was scheduled to land.Widodo said in a statement ahead of Indonesia's 70th independence anniversary ceremony that he was calling "for a moment of silence and pray for the crew and passengers ahead of our independence anniversary."European plane maker ATR said in a statement late Sunday that it "acknowledges the reported loss of contact" with the Trigana flight "and is standing by to support the relevant aviation authorities." ATR, based in Toulouse, France, makes regional planes with 90 seats or less.Indonesia has had a string of airline tragedies in recent years. In December, all 162 people aboard an AirAsia jet were killed when the plane plummeted into the Java Sea as it flew through stormy weather on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore.The sprawling archipelago nation of 250 million people and some 17,000 islands is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding airline markets, but it is struggling to provide enough qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety.From 2007 to 2009, the European Union barred Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe because of safety concerns.Trigana Air Service, which commenced operations in 1991, had 22 aircraft as of December 2013 and flies to 21 destinations in Indonesia.___Associated Press writers Nini Karmini, Ali Kotarumalos and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
Malaysian leader silences critics, media to survive scandal-Associated Press By EILEEN NG-August 16, 2015 1:18 AM-YAHOONEWS
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's prime minister has a problem: He can't explain away a $700 million bank account to a skeptical public.His response? A crackdown on critics and the press that has kept him in power but doesn't address a deep reservoir of dissatisfaction with his leadership.Less than a month after leaked documents suggested that $700 million from entities linked to debt-ridden state investment fund 1MDB was funneled into Prime Minister Najib Razak's accounts, he has expelled critics in his government, sacked the attorney-general probing him, suspended two newspapers, blocked a UK-based website and stalled investigations over the scandal.It is the first time a Malaysian leader has faced criminal allegations, and news of possible graft at the top level has gripped the country. It is also the biggest political crisis for Najib since he took power in 2009. Concerns over 1MDB also contributed to the Malaysian currency plunging to a 17-year low beyond 4 ringgit to the dollar on Wednesday."Malaysia's leader is still facing a legitimacy crisis with declining domestic support," said Bridget Welsh, senior research associate at the Center for East Asia Democratic Studies at the National Taiwan University.The message being sent is that Najib's leadership is moving further toward a hardline trajectory, she said. "History shows that crackdowns, arrests and threats backfire, and are at best temporary measures that fail to address the underlying demands for a better Malaysia."A nation of 30 million, Malaysia is predominantly Malay Muslim with significant Chinese and Indian minorities. It is a U.S. ally in Southeast Asia and one of the region's lynchpin economies, with ambitions to rise from middle income status to developed nation level this decade. Najib's increasing authoritarianism is a setback for the hopes of many Malaysians that their country was slowly embracing elements of liberal democracy.In a new twist last week, the anti-graft agency said the money was donations from the Middle East, and unrelated to 1MDB. Najib, who insists he has never used government funds for personal gain, then said he received the money on behalf of his ruling Malay party, with much of it going toward "social responsibility" programs.While the explanation has seemingly cleared Najib of corruption claims, it didn't mollify critics nor improve his public image. On the contrary, it raised new questions over who in the Middle East would donate such a huge sum and whether it came with conditions. It also didn't answer the mystery over why it landed in Najib's accounts.Electoral reform group, Bersih, is planning mass rallies at the end of August, on the weekend of Malaysia's Independence Day, to demand Najib's resignation but police have warned of a crackdown. Najib has also indicated he may crack the whip further, saying recently that laws regulating Internet content need to be tightened to prevent "trial by the social media" against the government.The scandal started with investigations into 1MDB, which was set up in 2009 by Najib to develop new industries. But in just six years, it amassed 42 billion ($10.6 billion) in debt after its energy ventures abroad faltered. Critics have long voiced concern over its massive debt and lack of transparency. Najib still chairs its advisory board.Police, meanwhile, have gone on a witch-hunt to determine who leaked the documents showing transfers to Najib's accounts. Police have questioned nine members of the anti-graft agency, seven central bank officials and have said they may also question central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.Despite the crisis, Najib has strengthened his footing in his United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, and taken full control of the government by placing loyalists in key positions. UMNO is the linchpin of the National Front coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.Support for the National Front has eroded in the last two general elections. In 2013, it won the polls but lost the popular vote for the first time to the opposition alliance led by Anwar Ibrahim, who is now in prison after being convicted of sodomizing an aide in a case widely regarded as politically motivated. UMNO is entrenched as the defender of majority ethnic Malays, protecting their rights through decades-old affirmative action policies favoring Malays in jobs, education and government contracts — and this is hard to dislodge, analysts said."This party has captured the state institutions and machinery and that's why they can control everything," said James Chin, who heads the Asia Institute in Australia's University of Tasmania."In Malay political culture, a strong leader is feared and admired, and that's how Najib is selling himself, as a strongman," Chin said.The 62-year-old Najib, whose father and uncle were the country's second and third prime ministers respectively, was educated in Britain. He returned to work for the central bank and the national oil company but was unexpectedly thrust into politics when his father, then-Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein, died in 1976.At age 22, he was Malaysia's youngest lawmaker ever at the time and patiently worked his way to the top. He speaks impeccable English and seen as modern: he has his own blog and is an avid social media user.Since becoming premier, Najib has battled criticism over his management of the economy, his family's lavish lifestyle and association with the killers of a Mongolian model nine years ago. Najib has said he had nothing to do with the model. Two security officers linked to Najib at the time were found guilty of her murder.One of his most vocal critics is former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power. Mahathir has called for Najib to resign over the 1MDB affair, warning there was "something rotten" in the government.Najib's own brother, Nazir Razak, who heads Malaysia's second largest banking group CIMB, has also echoed concerns over the country's future. In an Instagram post last month, Nazir said "in this darkest hour of political times, we must remember to place the country and the (people) first. Not personal interests, not personal loyalties, not even party politics."Ibrahim Suffian, who heads the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research, said UMNO and other National Front parties have rallied behind Najib because they fear the 1MDB crisis could sink the government.The controversy over 1MDB came at a time of economic slowdown as falling commodity prices hurt Malaysia's export-driven economy and government revenue. The public is also grappling with higher cost of living due to a new goods and services tax imposed in April.Chin from the University of Tasmania said Najib is more focused on consolidating power, than fixing the economy."Najib has the upper hand now but if the economy sours further, it could spell trouble for him."
