The Malaysian high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland has disputed an article in the Financial Times critical of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
In a letter published on the Financial Times website, Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi defended Najib's track record.
"Many Malaysians are puzzled by your newspaper's recent attack on the record of our prime minister and the suggestion that his leadership of Malaysia has been 'disastrous'.
"This runs counter to the real, tangible progress that has been made since the prime minister assumed office in 2009," he said.
Ahmad Rashidi was responding to the Financial Times article dated Jan 27, titled "The threat Najib poses to Malaysia's reputation".
Citing examples, the high commissioner argued that Malaysia's gross national income grew by 47.7 percent, 1.8 million jobs were created, and private investment had more than tripled since the establishment of Najib's Economic Transformation Programme in 2010.
He added that unemployment declined to under three percent - from 3.7 percent in 2009 - and Malaysia's poverty rate was cut in half.
On the global stage, Ahmad Rashidi said relations with both China and the US have never been better.
He also pointed out that US President Barack Obama recently described Malaysia's voice as being "critical in the debate that is taking place internationally around terrorism".
"I know the FT (Financial Times) sets the bar high, but if these and many other factual achievements make him a 'disastrous' prime minister, we wonder what he would have to do to be considered successful by your leader writers," he said.
The Financial Times article claimed that Najib and his affairs are damaging Malaysia's international reputation and deepening a public trust deficit at home.
This was based on the allegations surrounding the RM2.6 billion donation and SRC International's RM42 million, which were transferred into the prime minister’s private accounts.
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali had cleared Najib of any wrongdoing, while a source had told the BBC the donation originated from the late Saudi monarch King Abdullah to stem the influence of the Muslim brotherhood.
The prime minister has also repeatedly denied abusing public funds for personal gain, and blamed the allegations against him on those conspiring to topple him.
However, the Financial Times article said the issue is not just that many Malaysians are dissatisfied with the attorney-general's statement that there was "no reason given" for the $680m transfer to Najib from the Saudi royal family but also the prime minister's attitude towards the issue, which he said had been an "unnecessary distraction for the country".
"Far from being a distraction, the questions raised by the transfer and the dealings of 1MDB are pivotal to Malaysia’s future.
"At stake is whether one of Southeast Asia's leading nations, and a strategic ally of the US and European powers in the region, can maintain its equilibrium as a prosperous, free-market democracy that blends an adherence to moderate Islam with an internationally recognised legal system," it stated. -Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.