Najib's arrest makes headlines around the world

PETALING JAYA: The arrest and subsequent charge of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak garnered worldwide press attention, with many major news organisations playing up the developments of his graft probe.

Media organisations from Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Korea, the Middle East to the United States, featured news of Najib's charges prominently, with many using it as the lead story on websites.

The news was featured in many different languages from English, Mandarin, Tamil, Turkish and even Russian.

Among the outlets that reported on the former prime minister's arrest included the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), The Guardian, Bloomberg, CNN, Al-Jazeera, Der Spigel, Asian Nikkei Review and the BBC.

The New York Times went with the heading "Malaysia's Ex-Leader, Najib Razak, Is Charged in Corruption Inquiry" while WSJ went with the heading "1MDB Scandal: Najib Razak Is Charged in Court".

Journalists from all over the world were in Kuala Lumpur to cover the trial first hand.

CNBC ran a commentary on how Najib's arrest would test the country's reform-minded government.

"The 1MDB case is seen as a way for Dr Mahathir to uphold his campaign pledges of restoring the rule of law and abolishing graft in a country where deeply-rooted patronage and cronyism have stymied economic and political reforms.

"To boost the country's health, it's imperative for Dr Mahathir's team to show that the premier's office will no longer be exploited, experts have said," CNBC said in an editorial piece.

The South China Morning Post ran an article about how Najib was not the only world leader in court, giving the example of eight other world leaders who suffered the same fate.

Najib's arrest was also considered breaking news by many outlets who also sent out instant alerts on this.

The former prime minister, has been charged for corruption and criminal breach of trust in a case linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

The 64-year-old was charged with misusing his position as a government official to receive a RM42mil bribe as inducement to provide a sovereign guarantee on behalf of the Malaysian Government for a loan of RM4bil from a government pension fund to SRC International Sdn Bhd.