Najib: It took Harapan just 17 days to U-turn on manifesto

GE14 | Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has chided the opposition for admitting that it will not be able to deliver on the promises it made in its election manifesto.

This came after a March 25 report in Singapore’s Sunday Times quoted Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad as saying that some of the coalition’s election pledges could not be met due to the lack of funds.

“There are others who have put forward plans that would leave a gaping hole in our public finances.

“They make all sorts of fanciful promises, but 17 days after they have launched their manifesto, they have already admitted they would not be able to fulfil most of them.

“This government, on the other hand, has a plan for Malaysia’s economic transformation… that plan has delivered, and we intend to continue to deliver in the future,” Najib said in his speech in Seri Kembangan today to launch a microcredit scheme for Chinese Malaysians looking to participate in the e-commerce sector.

Harapan launched its election manifesto on March 8 ahead of the 14th general election.

Last Thursday, Mahathir reportedly said that some of the pledges contained within the manifesto could not be met.

“Sometimes, I feel that we may not be able to fulfil our promises. Our party, our coalition partners, you know they are very socialistic. They like to give things to people.

“I told them it cannot be done. You want to remove all the road tolls? I say, look, we have to maintain the roads. You have to build more roads.

“Where do you get the money if you’re trying to maintain this road by yourself? But they want popularity, so they prefer to promise this thing,” he said.

‘Economy doing well’

In his speech, Najib also highlighted the country’s economic achievements, pointing to the ratings of international agencies.

“Just last week, one of the best known of these agencies, Fitch, reaffirmed our 'A' band rating and stable outlook.

“They said our GDP growth last year of 5.9 percent exceeded their expectations, and that positive growth momentum should continue into 2018 and 2019,” he said, adding that the International Monetary Fund also stated that Malaysia is on its way to achieve high-income status.

Najib also highlighted past government programmes aimed at the Chinese community in his speech, such as an RM50 million allocation under the 2018 budget to improve existing schools and to build ten new Chinese vernacular schools.

In addition, he noted that the government regularly holds discussions with groups such as the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Federation of Chinese Associations (Hua Zong).

As for the Micro Credit E-commerce scheme launched today, Najib said RM25 million will be channelled into the programme for the benefit of Chinese entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 45.

He said 41 Chinese-based associations and chambers of commerce have already volunteered to be strategic partners for the scheme.

“I hope that through this Micro Credit E-commerce initiative, we will be able to achieve big fast results in at least three key areas.

“Firstly, to nurture ‘techno-preneurship’ among young people. Secondly, to improve living standards for youths, both in terms of income and quality of life. And thirdly, to transform traditional SMEs so that they can remain competitive and relevant, and help our rural products go global,” he said. Mkini