KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not mince his words when he spoke of his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whom he described as being a constant thorn in his side before, during and after his time in the top office.
In an exclusive interview with The Vibes recently, the Pekan MP said while Barisan Nasional saw a decline in support and popularity since the 2008 general election, the actions by Dr Mahathir just before the polls that year set the tone for future elections.
“If I could go back to 2004 (when BN last had more than a two-thirds majority) to that period (post-2008) in which we lost the two-thirds majority, Dr Mahathir campaigned against BN and called on the people to reduce their support for BN.
“So, if you go back in terms of recent historical perspective, the decline in the popular vote for BN started at that particular time, and of course, led to its eventual loss.”
Despite assuming the prime ministership in 2009, Najib said his efforts to bring Malaysia forward in a popular direction were thwarted by several parties, including Dr Mahathir.
“I personally wanted a fairer and more equitable Malaysia in terms of income level. I didn’t want the disparity to be too large between the rich and the poor.
I wanted to uplift the B40 and M40 groups, and I also wanted to reduce racial politics in this country. I wanted every single race and person to feel that they are part of a bigger family.
“I came out with the concept of 1Malaysia, which very few people understood, and as a result, I couldn’t really implement or execute what I wanted because of pressure from various sectors.”
The former Umno president admitted that he found it difficult to convince the people on the concept then, because Malay rights groups led by Perkasa, whose patron at that time was Dr Mahathir, were accusing him of giving up too much when it came to Malay rights.
“I tried to manoeuvre within the political landscape at that time.
And in fact, I know he (Dr Mahathir) campaigned to say I was giving up too many Malay rights, which is quite an irony compared with what he did in recent times.
“We had the Chinese groups that never quite believed in 1Malaysia in terms of execution, as they thought I still pretty much had a pro-Malay agenda.
“1Malaysia was a national policy that was designed to bring Malaysia a fairer society, to continue with the Malay agenda but to give more opportunities to non-Malays as well.
“That was basically it, but it was tough to balance the act.”
Najib said the actions by the Dr Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan government following the 14th general election to abruptly remove him and his staff from office were part of a “personal vendetta” against him.
“There was no basis for us to be treated in that manner. It went above the normal transition of an incoming administration. In other practising democracies, when there is a change of government, convention and decorum are involved.
“In Malaysia, it was unprecedented; however, I did all I could because I was a believer in democracy.
“I accepted defeat and the fact that there was going to be an incoming government, and I did all I could to ensure a smooth transition of power.
“But unfortunately, the same thing was not granted to me, my family, and my staff, in particular. We were treated with disrespect and disdain.
We were told to leave our office in a matter of hours, and were not allowed to get our personal effects until one or two years later for most of us, and that included our personal belongings.”
Having served as prime minister for nine years and as deputy prime minister before that, Najib said he had collected plenty of items and personal effects to keep.
“One day, I would perhaps want to open a gallery and show it (the items) to the Malaysian people, because it is part of Malaysian history.
“Unfortunately, we were denied all this. To me, it is an important part of democracy.
"When (former United States president Donald) Trump lost, he was given space and time by the administration to make the change, not only in terms of personal effects, but also to brief the incoming administration, give notes relating to policies and the takeover of the government.”
Due to PH’s failure to adhere to a proper transition and the good practices of modern-day democracy, said Najib, large capital flows left the country.
“Something like RM60 billion left the country in that particular year.
“In fact, during the nine years of BN’s administration, we were always positive. We were receiving billions in terms of foreign funds coming into our market.
“That is an example of one needing to put the country ahead of personal vendettas, ahead of petty party politics.” – The Vibes, May 15, 2021
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