Najib hopes things will be better because people voted for change

EXCLUSIVE | Time would reveal if there is real change in the nation or if Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would revert to his old ways, said former premier Najib Abdul Razak.

“So I think I would like to reserve that comment. Let people judge for themselves. Otherwise, people would say I am biased.

“But I do hope it would be for the better because they voted for change,” he told Malaysiakini in a recent exclusive interview.

However, the former premier urged Malaysians to hold the Pakatan Harapan government accountable with regard to its promises.

“For the rakyat to be deprived of the things they voted for, I think that is an injustice. I think the rakyat must demand, that on that day (May 9), they voted for all these things, for cheap petrol, free toll, PTPTN (higher education loan) to be waived.

“If they do not demand then I think the Malaysian people are not doing justice to themselves,” he added.

'Harapan's sweet, but unrealistic promises'

On that note, Najib said he was not surprised there were hiccups with regard to Harapan delivering its 100-day promises on time.

The former premier revealed that his team did the math when Harapan unveiled its manifesto for the 14th general election.

“We knew they could not (deliver). Simply could not. When it (the manifesto) came out, we did our calculations quickly. Sweet promises which we knew were populist but unrealistic” he added.

Najib said it is a sin to make promises that you know you cannot deliver as it is akin to lying to the people.

He also said the new government should cease the practice of blaming his administration for everything.

"I think the script is that it was because of our management (things cannot be done) and of course, they accuse me of corruption which is preposterous," Najib added.

The former premier also reiterated his criticism of the Harapan government's claim that the nation's debt and liabilities came up to RM1 trillion.

He said the debt is actually at RM686 billion, a number which international rating agencies have also maintained.

He pointed to the bad performance of the stock market since Harapan took control of the government as an example of how the new government failed to handle the situation well.

"When you are in the government, you have to shore up confidence and think and focus more on doing better, you know," he said.

However, Najib conceded, in response to a question, that the stock market's performance could also be influenced by external factors.

Below are excerpts from the interview, which have been edited for brevity, grammar and accuracy:

Malaysiakini: With the new government coming to its 60th day, how do you rate them? What have they done right and what have they done wrong?

Najib: They may say they can do better. I think they should show that they can do better. They’re not creating something new.

Cancelling projects is a no-brainer. I mean you can cancel and you can defer. It is a no-brainer, but can you create something better, that is the challenge.

Malaysiakini: Do you think all this blaming and saying the debt is at RM1 trillion is preparing for the basis for why they cannot fulfill their 100-day promises?

Najib: We knew they could not. Simply could not. That (their manifesto) is a solemn promise to the rakyat. The rakyat voted for that.

I have met a lot of people saying, look we wanted RM1.50 petrol the next day. They were voting for those promises and for them not to be given, and for the federal government not to deliver, I think there are a lot of serious questions to be answered.

As PM of the day, I couldn't do that.

In all honesty, when we make a promise in terms of manifesto, it is a trust that we will do it. It is a promise to the people and I took it seriously. I took the manifesto made by BN as a serious promise to the people.

And I intended to honour, to the letter, every single promise that I made to the people. And I knew if I were to make a promise that in all honesty was a false promise, I didn't have the conscience to do it. That is why I didn't do it. I promised what I could do to the best. But I couldn't go beyond, to say that if I win, the next day of RON95 would be RM1.50. I knew we couldn't do that. Because even at RM2.20, the subsidy was RM600 million a month. Imagine if we try to reduce it to RM1.50. We couldn't afford it. RM1.50 would be 70 sen cheaper than Saudi Arabia's current petrol price and they produce more than 20 times more oil than us. We knew that Harapan was lying to the people.

I knew I couldn't promise to abolish toll, for example. Because to abolish the toll would cost the state RM18 billion. I knew I couldn't promise PTPTN that anyone earning below RM4,000 doesn't have to pay because the consequence would be billions set aside.

I knew and I couldn't make these promises to the rakyat because these would be false promises. This would be a betrayal to the rakyat and I was not prepared to do that.

Malaysiakini: Do you foresee Mahathir handing the reins over to Anwar Ibrahim?

Najib: His (Mahathir) statements seem to be inconsistent, so you will have to ask him.

Malaysiakini: When you were the prime minister, you would only wait for the once-a-month Umno meeting to hold a press conference. Why do you hold such rare press conferences?

Najib: No, no, no, because I wanted my speeches to be carried by the press but if you have press conferences, then the other issues will supercede your main message, you know.

So that was why I was reluctant to host press conferences because the other issues will then supercede your main message.

Because usually, when I open a conference, I make a major policy speech, but if you were to ask me other things, those other things may supercede the main policy speech, so that is why I decided that just use my speech.

Because they were strong messages I wanted to deliver to the people, and all the policy speeches were really to explain our policies to the people, and I wanted that inclination to be made to the people.

It is not because I do not want to be in the press, it is not because I did not respect the press, but I wanted my main message to be clear every time.

Malaysiakini: The issue is when you do not hold press conferences, it gave the impression that you were afraid of being scrutinised. That was the perception you created.

Najib: Yes, it was not intended at all. It is not that I do not want to be scrutinised, but because I wanted the policy speeches to be elaborated by the press. -Mkini