Najib: How is The Loaf closing down also my fault?

Caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today claimed that the opposition has a habit of blaming the government for all of their own faults.

He said this includes the latest attempt to blame the government for reported closures of Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad's chain of bakeries, The Loaf.

"The strangest attempt is when they tried to blame BN for a bakery that went bankrupt.

"Even a bankrupt bakery that was forced to close down is the (caretaker) prime minister's fault? That is truly illogical," said Najib to cheers from thousands of Mara students and alumni at a gathering held at the Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology hangar in Subang Jaya today.

Singapore's The Straits Times reported that Mahathir admitted to trying to sell off the bakery chain he started in 2006, but a prospective buyer balked after purportedly being asked to pay "a lot of taxes" by the Inland Revenue Board. 

Najib, who did not directly name Mahathir, also made multiple references to financial scandals or losses during the latter’s 22-year tenure as prime minister which he said had been blamed on his current administration.

"RM31 billion losses the fault of others, Maminco is the fault of others, MAS nearly went bankrupt is the fault of others, Proton nearly went bankrupt is the fault of others, and (now) bakeries shutting down is also the fault of others," said Najib to cheers from the crowd.

The RM31 billion losses was a reference to Bank Negara's 1990s forex scandal.

Maminco, on the other hand, was a company set up during Malaysia's tin boom in 1981 and eventually recorded a reported debt of some RM1.5 billion on loans taken from a local bank.

'Mara's survival depends on BN'

Najib, meanwhile, also said that the survival of key bumiputera institutions like Mara will depend on Umno-BN remaining in power.

"As long as Umno-BN is in power, I guarantee Mara will continue to exist and expand.

"But with the other side, any institutions that are inconsistent with their Malaysian Malaysia agenda, I believe they will do something to it," said Najib, alluding to the DAP's "Malaysian Malaysia" slogan.

Najib said Mara has an existing cohort of 120,000 students in 358 institutions and had since its formation in 1966 assisted some 1.2 million students.

The group, he said, had since formed a political base for Umno and would ensure the party remains true to its struggles.

Some 5,000 Mara students and alumni were present during the gathering today including from its boarding schools nationwide. - Mkini