After two long arduous years, former prime minister Najib Tun Razak’s day of reckoning has finally arrived. Well, sort of. I mean, he’s set for day(s) of reckoning of course. This is only the first court verdict he has to face, with the 1MDB trial scheduled to go on until at least June next year. But this article isn’t about whether or not the man is innocent or guilty, it’s about how he’s not as much of a moron as you think.

If ya’ll thought Najib spent the last two years making a complete and utter idiot of himself, you wouldn’t be wrong. But if you think that’s all he’s been doing, you’re dearly mistaken. Hate him or love him, you cannot argue that Najib’s social media team has got game. They seem to have mastered the art of the meme, all while painting Najib as someone who’s way too goofy and down to earth to be capable of corruption.

From suits and ties to hoodies, tee-shirts and scooters, you might think that his posts are off the cuff and in the spur of the moment, but anyone with any experience in branding or marketing can tell you that all you’ve seen in the last couple of years has been a carefully curated attempt at dropping his aristocratic image and his supporters have bitten hard at the bait.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Najib has always had his supporters, but his social media numbers have actually grown immensely since he’s been deposed as PM. Back in February of 2019, former PM Tun Mahathir dismissed his growing popularity, referring to it as social media popularity that doesn’t have any real impact.

Fast forward to today and Tun Mahathir is out of a job and Najib has HUNDREDS of supporters gathered outside his court hearing. Najib may seem like a complete and utter moron, but he’s far from it.. or at least his team is far from it.

Whatever the verdict is in the court today, Najib’s influenced has undoubtedly grown and should he be found guilty, you can rest assured that there will be almost as much dissent as there would’ve been should he have been found innocent.