Just what Mahathir needs to bag Razak

A former flight attendant named Jamie Chua, now divorced from an Indonesian millionaire, was thought to have the world’s largest collection of Birkin bags by Hermès — 200 — putting to shade celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Kim Kardashian. But after a raid on the properties of the corruption tainted former Malaysian PM Najib Razak last week, that list may need to be altered, giving that dubious distinction to his wife, Rosmah Mansor. Besides 72 suitcases loaded with cash, bullion, watches and jewellery, among the items also reportedly seized by authorities were 280 designer handbags, mostly ensconced in a distinctive jailhouse orange box with the brand and model meticulously labelled on the side.

Given her known predilection for Birkins — the cheapest versions are priced at $12,000 — if most of the confiscated handbags are that iconic Hermès tote, it would put Ms Mansor at the very top of the heap. And if somewhere in that haul reposes the matte white Himalaya Niloticus crocodile-skin diamond 30-inch Birkin handbag auctioned by Christie’s in Hong Kong last year to an “unidentified buyer” for a world record sum of $377,000, not to mention a $27-million pink diamond, it could be just what Najib’s successor, former mentor and current bête noire Mahathir Mohamad needs to nail him on corruption charges.