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Najib in jail: One rival down for Malaysia's PM Ismail, but election's not in the bag yet
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Najib Razak's (left) absence from the political scene will strengthen Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's hand.
PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP
KUALA LUMPUR - Going by past record, the high-profile jailing of top politicians in Malaysia has far-reaching ramifications, and not all of them foreseeable.
When Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was first arrested for sodomy and corruption in 1998 and subsequently imprisoned, it sparked an opposition movement and caused a split in ruling party Umno, which was then led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the prime minister at that time.
