More calls for Najib to give up finance minister’s post

Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Kluang) and Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) are the latest federal opposition lawmakers to call for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s resignation as finance minister. – The Malaysian Insider pic, November 11, 2014.

Two more federal opposition lawmakers have added to the chorus of voices calling for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to relinquish his finance minister portfolio, citing concerns over the economy.

Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Kluang) and Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) said Malaysia needed a fulltime finance minister to manage the country's economy and government spending.

Najib is the current prime minister and finance minister.

The practise of the prime minister holding the finance minister portfolio started after the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1997, and after former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin resigned in 2011.

"The finance minister is a full-time job, to manage economic issues and control government spending.

"I once spoke to Tun Daim and he likened his job to a class monitor and financial controller, whereby he will meet with all ministers before their budget requests are included in the budget," Liew said at the Parliament lobby today.

He added that with worries over an impending economic slowdown due to the upcoming rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) in April as well as Putrajaya's current fuel subsidy rationalisation exercise, there was a need for a senior minister to give full attention to these challenges.

Mahfuz said questions arose on Najib's competence in managing the economy, given that he was also busy with his duties as the prime minister.

"As the finance minister, he should go look for new sources of income to stimulate economic growth but unfortunately, he is doing that by hurting the people's pocket," he said in referring to the broad-based consumption tax.

"This is unfair to the people. Maybe he is overwhelmed with work and cannot think of any new sources to boost the government's income."

Last week, Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Terengganu) had also called for Najib to quit as finance minister, after former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s open letter last month criticising Putrajaya's handling of the economy.

In his six-page letter, which was distributed to all federal lawmakers last week, Tengku Razaleigh said Putrajaya must be sensitive of factors that could lead to the downfall of the economy, including laws such as the Official Secrets Act and the Universities and University Colleges Act.

The veteran Umno leader said that the government should think about postponing GST to a time when the economy was more stable and firm.

Putrajaya, he said, was turning a deaf ear to the concerns of the people and was not listening to them.

"The budget every year seems to belittle a problem that needs urgent attention.

"There is so much criticism in Parliament and also from the public through social media, but government leaders are completely deaf to the cracks in our economy with an attitude of not caring."

- TMI