Najib's Sisyphean Hell

OPINION | Najib's Sisyphean Hell


28 Dec 2025 • 4:00 PM MYT


TheRealNehruism
An award-winning Newswav creator, Bebas News columnist & ex-FMT columnist

Image credit : Nikkei


In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was mighty king condemned by the gods for believing he could outwit them.


And how did the gods punish him ?


Well, they cast him into a hell where, every morning, he would awaken with an irresistible urge to push a massive boulder up a steep hill. All day long, Sisyphus would moan and groan under the crushing weight of the stone, telling himself, “Any moment now, any moment now,” imagining the triumph he would feel when he finally pushed the boulder up the summit. But just as he was about to crest the hill, the boulder would roll back down from the hill.


At that moment, one imagines Sisyphus collapsing in absolute despair—only to wake again the next morning, imbued once more with the same desire, doomed to repeat the same futile struggle. Again and again and again. For eternity.


There are two ways to describe Najib Razak’s hell within Malaysia’s legal system. One could frame it as The Little Engine That Could—the story of perseverance against all odds. Or one could see it for what it really is: Sisyphus pushing a boulder uphill.


To me, the latter fits far better.


The little engine was innocent, almost naïve. Najib, on the other hand, is a politician. Asking my mind to imagine a politician as innocent or naïve is asking too much of it. Rather, if anything suits the image of a man who believes he can outsmart the gods, it is a politician who thinks too highly of himself.


Also , unlike the happy ending of The Little Engine That Could, I seriously doubt that Najib’s story is going to conclude with victory. Rather, I think it is far more likely to end the way Sisyphus’s days always do—with Najib left crushed, broken, and forced to begin again, again and again, time after time, for what might seem like eternity to Najib.


By most measures, 2024 was a good year for Najib. His original 12-year prison sentence was reduced to six. From that vantage point, he could almost see the summit of the mountain.


Then 2025 began with a bang. If any of us recall, the “man of moment” early this year was Najib. He dominated headlines with the “addendum conundrum”—or the case of a mysterious missing addendum to his royal pardon, which allegedly would allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.


Through a court ruling, the government was forced to acknowledge the existence of the addendum. For a brief moment, it appeared that Najib was just a hair’s breadth away from breathing the air of a free man. There was indeed an addendum, Najib and his team had forced the government to admit, and the addendum did carry out an order from the king for Najib to be released into house arrest to finish the rest of sentence from the comfort of his home.


If Najib were Sisyphus, this would have been the moment when the summit was only six feet away. His chest must have been pounding with dream and hope. Just a little more, he might have told himself, summoning fresh energy at the thought that triumph lay only a few steps ahead.


But perhaps giving Najib hope was itself part of the torture the “gods” had planned.


Although Najib kept a low profile throughout much of 2025—likely to avoid ruffling feathers that might derail his addendum bid—the “gods”, it seems, had not forgotten his hubris.


Yesterday, the High Court ruled that although the addendum exists, Najib must complete the remainder of his sentence in Kajang Prison—not at home.


The verdict must have been crushing – it was as if the “gods” had let him soar high in the beginning of the year, just so he will come crashing down from a height by the end of the year.


Even so, Najib might still console himself with the thought that this is not the end. After all, he has only a limited stretch left to serve. Although his sentence formally ends in August 2028, remission for good behaviour could see him released as early as August 2026, and 2026 is just a few days away.


Once again, the summit appears close.


Yet something tells me that when August 2026 arrives, Najib—like Sisyphus—will find his hopes to be dashed once more, just when he is steps away from freedom. The boulder will roll downhill again.


Najib, after all, still has other criminal cases hanging over his head.


If the “gods” have their way, just as Najib believes he is about to walk free, he may be convicted in another case. And once again, he will find himself crushed and broken, watching his liberty roll away from the summit of his dreams.


In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is said to be punished for eternity. But perhaps the gods never intended eternity—only a very long time.

How long?


For as long as Sisyphus continues to imagine himself a mighty king who needs no gods, believing he can push even a massive boulder up a mountain through sheer will alone.


The moment Sisyphus finally breaks—when he forgets he is a king, stops believing he can outwit the gods, and throws himself at their feet begging for mercy—only then might his punishment end.


In ancient Greece, as in Malaysia, the “gods” love humility. Until you humble yourself, they believe it is only right that you be “taught a lesson.”


It may take Sisyphus a very long time to be humbled. He is, after all, a king—confident in his intelligence and power.


In the same way, it may take Najib a long time to break. He comes from an illustrious family and has tasted the very apex of power. He is, in another sense, accustomed to being a “god” himself. And gods take a long time to accept that they are merely mortal.


Until then, let me leave Najib with a famous line from Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus.


While reflecting on Sisyphus’s punishment, Camus famously reimagined this curse as something almost noble:


“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”


Perhaps Najib should read Camus. It might help him convince himself that he is not feeling the heat—but seeing the light—through his plight.

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A second royal FULL pardon should do the trick, that is, if the Agong is agreeable  - mustn't forget PMX has to be agreeable too unless the Defence can how the Royal Pardon per se supersedes all pardon protocols