KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the country should focus on widening the economic cake instead of selling off national assets, as the people would be able to reap the dividends.
Taking a swipe at Pakatan Harapan (PH) during its time in government, Najib indicated that the rampant selling of national assets had reduced opportunities for economic growth.
Instead, he said, the country should have increased investments, and the profits accrued could be distributed to the people.
“To widen our (economic) cake, assets should not be sold,” he said during his televised debate with opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim this evening.
“Previously, we had gained large returns from the GST (Goods and Services Tax),” he said in reference to the tax introduced by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government under Najib’s leadership in 2015.
The value-added tax was implemented at a rate of 6%, but was brought down to 0% after PH formed the federal government in 2018.
Najib said that if the GST were still in force, the country would have an additional RM30 billion, which could be turned into subsidies for the likes of fishermen and farmers.
The Pekan MP said this in the second segment of the debate, which focused on the future of Malaysia.
He placed emphasis on economic development through infrastructure projects such as the East Coast Rail Link and MRT3, to name a few.
Anwar stressed that the country must strive to become more inclusive and compassionate.
On the question of whether Malaysia should continue embarking on megaprojects that have been shown to have greatly benefited the people, Anwar said that it is important for transparency to be viewed as paramount.
Najib retorted with an analogy from his father, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, who was the nation’s third prime minister: “The bigger the cake, the more there is to distribute to the rakyat.”
An audience member was then heard shouting “Jho Low!”
Najib also said that during BN’s reign, the Gini coefficient, which is a statistical measure of economic inequality among the population, was significantly narrowed.
However, he claimed it widened under PH, which seized power in May 2018.
“Nine years under BN, the Gini coefficient was decreasing. But in 22 months of PH, the Gini coefficient skyrocketed. This is not rhetoric, these are facts,” he said.
Anwar shot back by saying: “If we have a cake, don’t let just one person eat it.” He then repeated his points on the importance of transparency and integrity.
He then asked the audience to compare the price of chicken when PH was in power to the higher price now under the current Umno-led government. – The Vibes, May 12, 2022
Quoting an analogy from his father, the late Tun Abdul Razak, @NajibRazak says we need to widen the ‘economic’ cake.
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) May 13, 2022
In response, @anwaribrahim says: “If we have cake, we shouldn’t eat it alone!” pic.twitter.com/l9Kx2JNnKe
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