Najib’s men can no longer help him, says Rais

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been under attack from many quarters over issues such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, April 23, 2015.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak must take drastic measures to revamp his administration style, Umno veteran Tan Sri Rais Yatim said today, adding that the prime minister could no longer rely on the people surrounding him.

The former minister (pic, right) told Astro Awani that Malaysians remained dissatisfied with the answers given to them on the controversies surrounding Najib.

“The people surrounding Najib can no longer help him. In fact, one vice-president is already calling for change,” the special advisor to the government on Social and Cultural Affairs was quoted as saying.

“The old Umno disease is rearing its head again.”

Rais said Umno leaders and government officers tasked to explain public issues were not doing their jobs properly.

“Umno has used traditional methods to deal with external party issues. Umno’s explanation efforts are ineffective and weak, while the government’s explanation is unable to cool things down because their answers are not satisfying the majority.

“More than 2,000 officers from the information department are no longer tasked to go down and give explanations to the people.

“Now they sit in their offices and read the newspapers, or set up loudspeakers for the VIPs,” said Rais.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been unrelenting in his attacks against Najib and today took them up a notch when he said 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) debt of RM42 billion had "disappeared" and Najib's inability to explain the matter disqualified him from leading the country.

Dr Mahathir listed down the known investments of 1MDB, which is owned by the Finance Ministry and whose advisory board is chaired by Najib, who is also the finance minister.

All known investments, Dr Mahathir said, amounted to RM14.7 billion, leaving approximately RM27 billion unaccounted for.

"Governments can lose money through bad investments. We would know where the money is lost. But when huge sums of money disappear, then those entrusted with its management must answer for the disappearance.

"Disappearance is about money lost which cannot be traced. This can be because of corruption or theft," he wrote in his blog at chedet.cc today.

In an earlier posting, he advised Umno to remove Najib or risk losing the next election.

Umno leaders such as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed have urged Najib to respond to Dr Mahathir’s criticism.

The prime minister took part in an interview on TV3 earlier this month to address the issues raised by Dr Mahathir, but the former prime minister continues to speak out against him.

- TMI