KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for voters to punish Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalitions over their “failures” to administer the country effectively.
In a no-holds-barred special address during the Barisan Nasional (BN) convention here today, Najib lambasted PH by listing its supposed failures, including “bumbling statements” by its ministers, failed promises, defective policies and the selling of national assets.
Najib accused PH failed in institutional reforms as they have placed political appointees in public offices.
“We have to remind the people who had lost the most, who had lied the most. It has never happened before in the nation’s political history that the people were lied to on such a huge scale.
“They lied and lied and then ‘ilek’ (Tamil word for ‘nothing’),” he said in jest.
He also hit back at the appointment of Latheefa Koya as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador as the inspector-general of police and Tan Sri Tommy Thomas as the attorney-general under the PH administration, citing that these persons had allegedly carried out selective prosecution against Umno and BN.
Najib and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, along with a few other party personalities were charged with a slew of criminal charges related to criminal breach of trust and corruption.
Similarly, Najib said the PN administration under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for failing to manage the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“And they must punish PN as well as they have lied in their fight against Covid-19. They had to suspend Parliament while in fact, he (Muhyiddin) has no backbone to face the Parliament as he has no majority, that is the truth.
“This is not what I say but this is what was said to me by one of his ministers. I won’t say his name but he admitted to me that the reason he (Muhyiddin) did so was to save the government from a vote in Parliament, not to fight Covid-19.
“This means they have lied to the people, they have lied to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”
He added that the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) had led to a devastating national financial situation, a rise in unemployment and even suicide cases.
However, Najib cautioned BN members to not be complacent despite the “failures of their political enemies”.
He said coalition members should not underestimate their “enemies” and must take every step to prepare.
Taking example the jubilant and high spirited mood prior to the 2018 general election after BN won the Sg Besar (2016), Kuala Kangsar (2016) and Teluk Intan (2014) by-elections, Najib said those wins did not translate into a national victory
“So, I cautioned members to not take the recent Melaka and Johor polls as an indication that we will win big.” – The Vibes, June 1, 2022
