KUALA LUMPUR: The year 2018 will be a defining moment for Malaysians to decide on country’s the future and stability, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
As the 14th general election looms closer, Najib reminded Malaysians to make a right decision choosing between a ruling party which had worked for the betterment of the people, and the other that only had worked to stoke public anger and divisions.
In his New Year Message today, Najib said he was confident that the people could see through the falsehoods of certain parties, and would make the right choice for the nation.
“This is the choice that will be presented to the Malaysian people in 2018. A Government that has continued to work for their betterment, with a clear direction and policies to move Malaysia forward in the short, medium and long-term – or parties who can only campaign negatively, hoping to cause public anger and unhappiness to win votes, because they have nothing to offer Malaysians but division and populist illusions that would damage the country.
“Electing the government is a serious business, and we are confident in the wisdom of the people. We are confident that they will see through the false promises of certain parties, knowing who is working for the true interests of all Malaysians, and recognising who has the proven track record that has delivered and is continuing to deliver,” Najib said.
He also said despite differences in opinions the opposition should contribute to nation building while maintaining decorum and decency.
For example, Najib in a reference to his visit to meet jailed PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at a hospital in November, said such gesture should not have been misconstrued as peculiar.
“The Malaysian people also deserve more from their politicians. There is an honourable role for opposition parties to scrutinise legislation and hold governments to account. Driven by principles and ethical behaviour, they can and should play a responsible part in nation building.
“We can have differences of opinion, of course, but we should still be decent and have decorum. It should not be considered unusual, for instance, to visit longstanding opponents in the hospital to express sympathy and good wishes for their speedy recovery.”
He said such a practice should be understood by today’s civilised society, as it was an approach which contrasted the leadership of a particular former leader.
“That should be accepted and understood in a civilised society, for we do not believe in, and nor will we return to, the viciousness practised under a former leader.”
Najib also praised Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, for his efforts to promote political maturity in the name of common interests such as championing causes for the Rohingya and Palestinians.
“A better way has also been shown by Pas under the leadership of Tuan Guru Datuk Seri Haji Abdul Hadi Awang. We are in different parties, but we surmount those divisions when it comes to matters of common interest, such as supporting the causes of the Rohingya and the Palestinians.
“This is a more mature politics which helps build our country, not attempt to burn it down; it helps unite us, not divide us; and it concentrates on what we have in common, rather than make a weakness of our diversity – which as far as the Government is concerned, is our strength, and we will never cease to defend it.”
Najib said 2017 recorded another milestone in ensuring good governance in all sectors, including taking measures to address past mistakes as seen in the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Bank Negara Malaysia’s losses in foreign exchange between 1992 and 1994.
“2017 also marked a different milestone, for it was a year in which we redoubled our efforts to ensure good governance in all sectors – which included not allowing past mistakes to remain unaddressed. Some politicians such as Lim Kit Siang had long called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the forex losse
s between 1992 and 1994.
“Last year we answered that call by forming an eminent panel to investigate. They concluded that Bank Negara incurred losses of RM31.5 billion during that time which, they said, had ‘a significant negative impact on the economy of the country, whereby it deprived the country of development opportunities’.”
In singling out a former leader over a series of alleged wrongdoings, Najib said his government would not allow crony capitalism to fester any further.
“The Malaysian people had a right to know what had happened in the past, just as it is right that a newly reinvigorated MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) has shown wrongdoers that they will be rooted out, and just as it was right for me to announce last July that the Government is cracking down on the crony capitalism culture created by a former leader.
“The Malaysian people have paid a heavy price so that a few of friends of this former leader could make enormous profits, no matter what the cost to the people.
“We made it clear that this has to end. Lapses of governance, in either the private or the public sector, cannot be tolerated. They must be investigated and rectified – not just because this is necessary for Malaysia to continue on its path to high-income status, but because the people deserve nothing less.”
Najib also criticised those who had put efforts to sabotage the country’s economy through claims that could undermine the people’s livelihood, and a former leader for attempting to topple the government in order to fulfil ambitions he harboured for his son.
“It is neither honourable nor responsible, however, to attempt to sabotage the Malaysian economy by making wild and false claims that could undermine the people’s welfare and livelihoods. Lying about your country for personal political gain is morally wrong – such people are betraying Malaysia.
“Neither is it acceptable for a former leader to attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government in the hope that his ambitions for his son may be realised. In a democracy, all that should matter is the wishes of the people as expressed at the ballot box, not the selfish dynastic desires of one man.”
He said the opposition on many occasions, had been irresponsible for going against policies that they knew were right to be implemented by the government
“ We have seen too much of this, whether it be over GST – which almost every reputable economist around the world has praised, and which is a reform that most other countries including India and Saudi Arabia are also implementing – or over 1Malaysia.
“Opposition figures concede privately that they are in favour of this concept to promote national unity – as all patriotic Malaysians should be – but they have opposed it for deceitful, personal political ends. This is shameful.”