KUALA LUMPUR: "There must be a clear distinction between political narrative and facts."
Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said this, and remarked that "words said and allegations made while in the opposition carries a very different weight now that you are in power and holding the positions of the Finance Minister or the Prime Minister".
In a late night posting on his official Facebook page, Najib said that mixing political narratives and facts will create doubts on the credibility of Malaysia's numbers and the professionalism of the institutions that were involved in preparing them, governed by Malaysian laws and international standards.
He was referring to the announcement made on Malaysia's GDP as well as the nation's debt amounting to RM1 trillion, in which he said the figures given without providing details will lead to several issues.
"Coming out to say that our country's government debt to GDP is now 65%, which is a big jump from the official 50.9% figure and saying that our debt is now RM1 trillion without giving any details of what you mean will just unsettle the financial markets, alarm the credit rating agencies and investors confidence in our institutions such as our Bank Negara Malaysia," he said.
Najib claimed that the "alarming and confusing statement" resulted in the Bursa Malaysia index falling the most among all worldwide stock markets.
This, he said, resulted in tens of billions of ringgit in market value wiped out in one day.
"Our Bursa index fell 40.78 points today or 2.21% while the Indonesian stock index added 0.71%," the former Prime Minister said, adding that The Edge Markets the sharp fall was contributed by concern on Malaysia's public debt.
"Surely this fall would affect our funds such as EPF and PNB and could lower the dividend rates for its members for the year.
"Similarly, issuing statements that we should not worry about our country's sovereign credit ratings being downgraded will result in further rocking the confidence in our institutions."
Najib who stepped down as Umno president and Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman recently following the coalition being defeated in the May 9th general election, said a downgrade will result in higher debt financing costs of RM10 billion per year to Malaysia.
This may also result in the country's banks who had borrowed from the international markets to sustain losses, he said.
"It may also result in large capital outflows from foreign investors and cause our Ringgit to weaken."
Meanwhile, Najib reminded those in power that they must remember that the country and Malaysians come first.
"While you may want to slander and put all the blame on me to give a perception of a dire financial position to justify why you cannot deliver on your manifesto promises and to massively cut the civil service, you must remember that the country and our people comes first.
"You can also issue misleading statements on 1MDB or tell half the story about it to blame me but the time to play politics is over.
"Words spoken while in such positions of power result in actual losses to the country and the people, as was proven today in the stock market. It is no longer just about votes anymore," he said.