Mahathir: Too many things going wrong under Najib

The former Prime Minister insists that Najib, surrounded by his British advisers and foreign consultants, must step down as Prime Minister.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has taken to his blog to insist that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, surrounded by British advisers and foreign consultants, must step down as he had proved himself no leader. “These people cost billions to advise him on how to run the country. They know nothing about the country and as a result the country’s economy has been affected and people are at each other’s throats.”

“The economy can only recover after he steps down. The ringgit will recover with him gone, the cost of living will come down, and people can stand tall again. No Prime Minister has brought such shame to the country.”

Mahathir urged the people to demand that there be independent investigations of the various scandals and issues and allegations against Najib.

Mahathir reminded his critics that he fought hard to have Najib appointed as Prime Minister. “But now I want him removed. It’s nothing personal. The Al-Jazeera documentary, Murder in Malaysia, was a bombshell. It’s clear from the story that Najib had something to do with the Altantuya killing. The people and the world believe it.”

“In fact, I noticed very early in his premiership, that things were going wrong. He spent a lot of money in 2013, for GE13, and still the Chinese rejected him.”

He recited a litany of ills under Najib’s leadership: the economic growth has fallen below that in the Philippines and Indonesia, the currency has depreciated, shares are down very badly, and this has created problems for businesses and importers and exporters, and the cost of living has gone up.

He reiterated that the people have been running the country before Najib, since independence in 1957, and have been doing very well without British advisers and foreign consultants. “The foreigners with Najib know nothing about the politics, economics and sensitivities in Malaysia.”

Besides antagonizing the civil service by bringing in British advisers and foreign consultants, said Mahathir, Najib has also alienated the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) by setting up Pemandu to take over its job and with a salary scheme far above the government level. “Many civil servants retired and joined the Opposition, even standing for election under its ticket, something unprecedented in the history of the country.”

Mahathir charged that Najib was paying people to demonstrate in support of him and at the same time not allowing demonstrations calling for his removal.

Mahathir revisited the 1MDB in his latest blog posting, the RM2.6 billion political donation controversy, the sackings and transfers of government officials when they got too close to him in investigating various scandals and issues including 1MDB, and Najib’s family’s fabulous lifestyle with no explanation on where the money was coming from.