PM Najib: Economy in ruins if ‘Pak Pandir’ opposition wins

PM Najib: National debt will rise to RM1 trillion, and Pakatan sales tax will place the rakyat under double jeopardy.

Najib Razak says Permodalan Nasional’s high dividends are a result of its superb track record under the BN.

BATU PAHAT: The people’s investment in Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) will be affected if the opposition were to wrest control of the government with their “Pak Pandir” policy, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

He said based on the finance ministry’s findings, the abolition of tolls, goods and services tax (GST) and the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), as promised in the opposition manifesto, would increase the national debt to RM1 trillion or 80% of gross domestic product (GDP) from 50.8%.

“It will have a bad effect on Bursa Malaysia, the currency will be affected. PNB will be affected too, as well as unit trusts.

“Bursa Malaysia is getting stronger. This is closely linked to the farsighted economic management of the country. This is not a trivial matter to be politicised,” he said at the launch of the Malaysian Unit Trust Week at the Batu Pahat Stadium here today.

PNB is the country’s largest fund manager, managing funds worth RM200 billion through 13.4 million unit holders of various ASNB trust funds. In December, PNB paid out RM10.7 billion in dividends for 2017 to 9.1 million unit holders of Amanah Saham Bumiputera.

Pak Pandir, a popular character in Malay folklore, is depicted as foolish and naive, an incarnation of a village idiot whose silliness lands him in hilarious and adverse situations.

Najib said PNB’s total dividend (and bonus) payout of RM14.6 billion in 2017 was a result of “the superb track record and relentless struggle that created PNB”.

The prime minister said the people understood that if the GST were to be abolished (as promised by Pakatan Harapan), there was no guarantee that the price of goods would drop.

“We cannot be populist. We’ve garnered the support in the scope of responsibility. We must be responsible,” he said.

“In fact, the people also understand that even if the sales and service tax (SST) were to be implemented, the opposition will increase them to 10% and 6%, respectively. (This will be) double jeorpady.

“The opposition Pak Pandir’s policy will have a bad effect on the country’s economy,” he said.

Najib said three credit ratings agencies had revised their growth estimates of the Malaysian economy after the BN manifesto was released this month. The World Bank had also raised Malaysia’s GDP forecast to 5.6% from 5.4% previously.

“The BN manifesto has been highly regarded. They (rating agencies) did not say anything about the opposition manifesto as it is worthless,” he said. -FMT