Najib to Guan Eng: Who is the finance minister?

Lim Guan Eng and Najib Razak in this file picture taken late last year during the Penang floods. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The tit-for-tat between Najib Razak and Lim Guan Eng continued today with the former prime minister saying he was not surprised with Lim’s refusal to respond to 17 questions he posed on Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) handling of the economy.

“Guan Eng still insists that I did not answer his question, so he does not want to answer my questions. In fact, I had already answered clearly in the 10th and 11th paragraphs of my Facebook post yesterday,” Najib wrote today in a Facebook post.

Among the questions he asked Lim is whether the PH government had lost RM30 billion during the three-month tax holiday following the zero-rating of GST.

He also questioned a claim that the government coffers were only left with RM450 million at the end of April.

Lim had today brushed off Najib’s criticism of PH’s handling of the economy, and accused him of trying to deflect attention from more pressing issues.

“If he doesn’t understand or pretends not to understand, or doesn’t want to admit that he is wrong, how am I meant to answer all the other questions?” he said.

Najib said he had already replied that it was impossible that there was only RM450 million left in the government’s consolidated funds at the end of April.

He said there was always a two-month buffer to pay wages and pensions of about RM8 billion a month.

“I had also answered that if Guan Eng’s claim is true, that there was only RM450 million left at the end of April, he surely has access to government accounts and can easily get his answers as to where the money has gone.

“Why is he asking me? Who is the finance minister?” the Pekan MP asked.

Najib said Lim was “playing games” by responding to his questions with more questions.

“It is not a case of when it is ‘Game Over’, you can ‘Continue’ by inserting one or two more tokens.

“If anything, my questions yesterday only needed a yes or a no answer. If Guan Eng cannot respond, many officers in the ministry can be assigned to answer,” he said. -FMT