'No mood' among Malaysians to change government, says Najib

PUTRAJAYA — Malaysians do not seem to be in the mood to change government, unlike five years ago, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday (April 4).

“From my frequent trips to the ground in the past few weeks, I find there is no such mood, there is no such wind of change that was blowing before GE13,” he told senior editors at a briefing here, referring to the country's 13th general election in 2013.

He also said the country was doing “very well”.

“The time has come and we stand by our own track record. We have delivered on our promises we made in GE13," he added.

“Look at the hard facts and cut off the rhetoric, our achievements cannot be denied. Our achievements have been reaffirmed by world bodies like the World Bank.”

He also stated that it was because of his administration that the country avoided recession twice, even though many other countries could not do the same.

The first was the sub-prime crisis, which Mr Najib said the government addressed by pumping RM66 billion (S$22.4 billion) into the economy.

The second was the oil price crisis, which, although Malaysia is an oil producer, saw the government striving ahead despite the fall in revenue.

“We kept going with the projects that mattered to the people. I am giving back to the people,” said Mr Najib.

He is expected to announce the dissolution of parliament on Friday, paving way for what is expected to be a tough general election for his long-ruling coalition.

Mr Najib is under pressure to secure a strong mandate as he grapples with a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund and public anger over rising living costs. To do so, he must fend off an unprecedented challenge from his old mentor, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

He added that he wants a convincing victory in the general election to press on with his reforms, but is concerned this may be hindered if voters are not told of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) many achievements and pledges.

“I want to be returned with a strong mandate so that I can make the various changes that this country needs,” he told the editors during a special briefing in view of the launch of BN’s election manifesto on Saturday (April 7).

“I want to be inclusive, give everyone a voice and to take part in the future of the country.”

The BN chairman expressed further concern that his coalition’s accomplishments risked being drowned out by the “message of hate” spread by opposition rivals.

“We have actually done very well. I have asked the Chief Secretary to the Government to draw up aĺl our rankings, from competitiveness to standards of living, to show how we well we have done,” he said.

“I want Malaysia to be among the best in the world. I will not settle for second best and I need a strong mandate to do this.”

He hit out at Dr Mahathir for being a politician with “no class”, saying the latter made all sorts of wild accusations against BN and resorted to name calling.

“That is his style — taking things to the extreme. Look at what he did to Anwar (Ibrahim) and Pak Lah (former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi).

“He attacked them to the extreme. He is so crude by dwelling in gutter politics. He has no class.”

Dr Mahathir sacked Anwar as his deputy prime minister in 1998 and went on to vilify the latter until their recent reconciliation.

Mr Najib revealed that the rift between Anwar and Dr Mahathir started when the former DPM began inquiring about deals that Dr Mahathir’s children were getting from the government, especially Petronas.

“His sons got all sorts of deals, including bailouts, worth billions of ringgit and that was OK,” he said.

“If my son Ashman got a small contract, the whole world will be in an uproar,” he added. THE MALAY MAIL ONLINE