Najib’s only policy is to protect self, not Malaysia, says Dr Mahathir

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says today Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has no solutions to the woes confronting the nation. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, October 10, 2015.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is only interested in protecting himself, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, adding that Najib was not concerned about development or economic wellbeing.

The former prime minister, a former ally of Najib turned staunch critic, reiterated his criticism that the embattled leader was only interested in cash and that he was using money to gain support.

He said Najib ignored his advice that people would not support the ruling Barisan Nasional pact by giving RM500 handouts through the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) programme.
“So he doesn’t care whether this country does well or not, the ringgit goes down he doesn’t care, he said it’s normal… will come back.

“The share prices are down, welfare of citizen doesn’t matter, welfare of workers doesn’t matter. He doesn’t even have policies on jobs. All he knows is to give money to people.

“I am sorry to say he has no real policy with regard to welfare of workers and status of workers and there is no programme to upgrade industries and train workers.

“Only policy they have is how to protect Najib,” he said in a brief question and answer session at the “Impact of economic issues on Malaysian workers” forum by the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE).

Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister added that the current government was only interested in "perpetuating itself, in particular Najib".

Earlier in his speech, he said he did not believe in the numerics from the gross domestic product (GDP) or per capita income because the reality was different.

"We cannot depend on all these numbers because they do not reflect the real situation of the people on the ground.

"For example, out of 1,000 people, 999 of them have no jobs or salary and the remaining one person is a millionaire, so if we take the average, everyone will get RM1,000 when in reality they actually do not have a single sen," he said.

In order for all Malaysians to enjoy a good life, Dr Mahathir said there was a need to increase the country's productivity to tackle the spiralling cost of living, which has impacted consumers' purchasing power.

Productivity, he said, could be boosted by upgrading workers' skills and knowledge and modernising the way work is done.

Despite assurances from Putrajaya that Malaysia's fundamentals are strong, concerns have been mounting over the economy as the ringgit, Asia's worst performing currency in the past year, slides beyond the RM4 mark against the US dollar.

The situation has been attributed to a worsening global outlook, China's surprise devaluation of the yuan, plunging commodity prices and the current political scandal linked to Najib over the RM2.6 billion "donation" from an unknown Middle Eastern country into his personal accounts.

At the same time, Najib's brainchild, state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is facing multiple probes over its alleged financial irregularities.

- TMI