Singapore firm develops 'whack-a-mole' style game featuring Najib

KUALA LUMPUR — Glassfire Games, a Singaporean company, has developed a satirical mobile game featuring former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak who has been charged with corruption and money laundering.

Developers say the “whack-a-mole” game called “Where Is Najib?” was inspired by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal, Najib’s claims of a billion ringgit donation from Saudi royalty and the list of charges against him.

Instead of whacking moles, gamers would be whacking Najib when his head with a diamond pops out.

Each successful hit would give the gamer 10 points and they are also given 10 seconds to score at least 100 points to “find” Najib.

Those who manage to score the 100 points, would then see messages like: “You Found Najib! He’s Googling ‘how to delete my computer’”; “You Found Najib! He’s weeping into the saddest bowl of sup kambing in the world” or “You Found Najib! He’s disguised as a durian” on their screens.

“I wanted to make this game not just for entertainment, but also to highlight through satire, how horrifying it is that these events had happened,” game developer Samantha De Silva told Digital News Asia last week.

Mr Karamjit Singh, the founder of Digital News Asia, said in a YouTube interview that Singaporean game developers are probably the first to develop this game because “maybe Malaysians are still cautious and are afraid of upsetting people”.

“Maybe they are afraid of Jamal Jamban appearing outside their office,” Mr Singh said in apparent reference to firebrand United Malays National Organisation Sungai Besar division chief Jamal Yunos.

Najib, who founded 1MDB in 2009, has faced intense scrutiny since unexpectedly losing a general election in May to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who reopened investigations into allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from the fund.

Last week, Najib rejected 25 criminal charges filed against him for money laundering and abuse of power over his receipt, use and transfer of RM2.6 billion (S$859 million) allegedly from 1MDB.

He was charged with money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power in July and August relating to funds of about RM42 million that allegedly flowed from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, into his personal bank account. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Mr Singh said the next reality-based game Glassfire Games is coming up with is about a young politician who enters a party in a fictitious country “very much like Singapore”.

The “Where Is Najib?” game is free for the moment and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. It will be available on the Google Play Store within the next three months. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT