Chinese Santa

Move over, Santa! 

Here's the Chinese version and he's merrily sprinkling joy with an extra, extra dose of “nián nián yǒu yú” (年年有余), a popular Chinese New Year blessing meaning "May you have abundance year after year"! 😆😆😆

The "Chinese Santa" is a character based on the Qing dynasty military figure Oboi (鳌拜) and portrayed by actor Xu Jinjiang, who appeared at a tourist resort in Zhanjiang, China this month. The exact date was around mid-December, as the story went viral on social media around December 10-20, 2025. 

The character's appearance was part of a festive Christmas event at the Chikan Guangdong Overseas Chinese International Tourism Resort. 

Oboi, known for his thick white beard and imposing presence, was featured sitting in a sleigh and waving to visitors, creating a unique, local version of Santa Claus that became a pop culture phenomenon online.

My Sunday's post "1MDB Verdict: Najib Razak Is Guilty" pertains. In his verdict on December 26, judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah delivered a damning rejection of the former prime minister's narrative that billions in his account were from an Arab donor. 

At the height of the 1MDB scandal a decade ago, however, this story had many other proponents – some of whom are still holding office in senior government positions. 

Among them is Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. In 2015, Zahid told delegates at an UMNO divisional meeting that he had personally met the chief investment officer and wealth trustee of the Arab royal family allegedly behind the RM2.6 billion donation in Najib’s personal account. 

“When I asked them why they donated $700 million to Malaysia, they said, ‘Malaysia is not the only country we are channelling our money to. There are many more friendly Muslim countries to which we are donating’. They want UMNO and BN to continue ruling the country”. He even claimed to have seen the original documents of the transfer. 

The MACC similarly described the funds as a donation, not from 1MDB. Moreover, Azam Baki told reporters on December 07 that year that their investigators had met with the supposed donor. The MACC chief commissioner at the time was Abu Kassim Mohamed, while Azam was the investigation director at the time and has since taken over the top position. 

The stance was echoed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, who told Parliament in 2016 that the MACC confirmed that the money came from a donation. 

“In the RM2.6 billion case investigation, MACC had confirmed that the funds given to the prime minister personally indeed came from the Saudi royal family, based on testimonies by witnesses and supporting documents. Based on the overall facts and testimonies, the attorney-general was happy that there was no element of crime in these cases”, she said in a written reply. 

Another proponent was former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin. As the UMNO Youth chief at the time, he had argued that the “political donation” into Najib’s account is not a crime and rallied party members to come to Najib’s defence. 

Shouldn't these people be hauled up?!?! 

FYI, the court had dismissed the Arab donation letters presented by Najib’s defence team in his 1MDB trial as “forgeries”. 

“(The) Arab donation narrative is not meritorious. The Arab donation letters were forgeries, and the evidence pointed unmistakably to the fact that the money was, in fact, derived from 1MDB funds. This court has found the Arab donation defence to be incapable of belief and has not succeeded in rebutting the presumption of gratification under Section 23 of the MACC Act”, the judge said in delivering his guilty verdict.