Najib tells new Malaysian leaders to serve country, people first rather than slandering, blaming him

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has reminded ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) to serve the country and the public first, instead of allegedly slandering and blaming him for Malaysia's economic situation.

In a surprise statement on his Facebook page late on Wednesday night (May 23), Datuk Seri Najib said PH should not make claims like it did when it was still in opposition, since its remarks now carry "a very different weight" and may affect the country's economy.

"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 come 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," said Mr Najib, referring to sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

"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 did not say to whom he was referring, but he had mentioned the posts of finance minister and prime minister, held by Mr Lim Guan Eng and Tun Mahathir Mohamad, respectively.

Mr Najib refuted Putrajaya's claim that the government debt is now 65 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) or RM1 trillion (S$337 billion), suggesting such a remark would unsettle financial markets, alarm credit rating agencies and shake investors' confidence.

He said the figure is closer to 50.9 per cent, although Dr Mahathir had previously said the figures were not accurate.

"There must be a clear distinction between political narrative and facts. Mixing them will create doubts on the credibility of our numbers and the professionalism of the institutions that were involved in preparing them, governed by Malaysians laws and international standards."

Mr Najib said as a result of the "alarming and confusing" remarks made by PH leaders, the KL Composite Index had fallen the most among all stock markets of late, and would affect funds such as the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).

Similarly, issuing statements that there should not be any worries about the country's sovereign credit ratings being downgraded will result in further rocking the confidence in Malaysia's institutions, he added.

"A downgrade will result in higher debt financing costs of RM10 billion per year to our country and may result in our banks who had borrowed from the international markets to sustain losses.

"It may also result in large capital outflows from foreign investors and cause our ringgit to weaken," Mr Najib said.

Earlier this week, Dr Mahathir blamed the previous government led by Mr Najib, who now faces domestic graft investigations, for the RM1 trillion debt.

On Wednesday, Putrajaya announced several austerity measures, such as a cut in ministers' wages by 10 per cent and the shutting down of several government agencies. MALAY MAIL