Najib launches into lengthy broadside against Dr M at dinner event

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, in what is possibly one of his lengthiest broadside against former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, dedicated almost one-third of his speech, chastising the former leader, at a dinner event. 

A total of 13 paragraphs of his 47-paragraph speech was dedicated to criticising Mahathir, whom he refused to call by name but merely addressed as "former leader".

Najib delivered the keynote address, entitled "Governance in a Developing Democracy", at a dinner organised by the United Nations Association Malaysia (Unam) in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

The premier in his speech had lamented what he termed as the "epidemic of fake news".

"From time to time, some Western media outlets have been featuring interviews with one of our former leaders and presenting his allegations about the country as facts.

"They are not. This former leader has been on a nearly three-year mission to illegitimately topple the democratically elected government of Malaysia in between election cycles."

This former leader, Najib added, has tried "every method at his disposal and failed each time".

As a result, Najib said the leader was making himself available to any media organisation that was willing to listen so that he can "spread fake news and tell lies about his country for selfish political gains".

"He seems to think that if he tells a lie often enough, people will begin to believe it is true. And unfortunately, that may be the case as no one would expect a former leader to tell outright untruths."

For instance, Najib cited the former leader's oft-repeated claim that Malaysia was among the top 10 most corrupt countries in the world.

"When challenged to produce evidence for this, he is unable to do so. That is because it is nonsense."

Citing Transparency International's latest ranking, Najib pointed out how Malaysia was listed in the third least corrupt countries, at 55th place out of 176.

On the former leader's claim that the country was going bankrupt, Najib refuted this by quoting the World Bank, which stated that the "Malaysian economy is progressing from a position of strength".

"Another, which is laughable, is that Malaysia is in danger of sliding into dictatorship."

Expressing disagreement with this, Najib insisted that elections are fiercely fought in the country, while the opposition has significant representation in Parliament and also controls three states.

"We have allowed demonstrations against the government in Kuala Lumpur. These are not the markers of a dictatorship. The claim is ridiculous.

"The irony is that this former leader has admitted that he himself was a dictator when in office. And this is his words, not mine," said Najib to laughter from the audience.

Despite all these, Najib noted that many things have changed since the former leader's time.

"We have made it clear that there will be no more crony capitalism. We have invested in the infrastructure and public transport Malaysia needs and in opposition states as well as BN states, unlike his time."

Apart from his veiled attack against Mahathir, Najib in his speech outlined initiatives he had undertaken, which he claimed, were essential to good governance in the country.

"Firstly, the concept of 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now, secondly, the Government Transformation Programme and thirdly, the Economic Transformation Programme."

He also cited his brainchild - National Transformation 2050 (TN50) - which he said was launched to further strengthen the country.

The government's bottom-up approach in TN50, he said, was a clear example of the government practising good governance in response to the changing needs of a young population.

"The economic performance I have outlined and the acclaim we have received from international organisations should be conclusive proof of the good governance this government has practised in Malaysia," he said.- Mkini