PM: I will never betray people
Published on: Monday, July 06, 2015
Selangor: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has reiterated that as an elected Prime Minister, he would never betray the people. Najib said he would also never allow foreign elements to threaten and topple the leadership of Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) which have been chosen by the people to administer the country to suit their own agendas. "This is my promise," he said at the "Iftar Rakyat Negeri Selangor Bersama Perdana Menteri" breaking-of-the-fast event at the Bandar Rinching Mosque, here, Sunday.
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Najib said he had become the victim of relentless attacks on social media lately including accusations that he had embezzled money.He rubbished claims he had stolen 1Malaysia Development Bhd's (1MDB) funds, saying that if he wanted to do so, he would not have placed the money in a bank account in Malaysia. He said he was merely a victim of certain quarters who were trying to twist public perception so that the opposition would gain more votes in the general election. "In the past one or two days, they have come up with all sorts of stories. I have become a victim of their relentless attacks lately, that I supposedly stole a huge amount of money and placed it into my personal accounts.
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"I am thankful, there are some who say they don't believe the news," he added. He said it didn't make sense for him to do something like that. "If I wanted to steal, surely I wouldn't steal the money and bring it into an account in Malaysia. That is, if I wanted to be a robber (penyamun). But of course, as a Prime Minister, I won't betray Malaysians and what belongs to Malaysians."
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On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) alleged that up to US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) was transferred to Najib's personal bank accounts with AmBank in 2013, just before the 13th general elections. But Najib on Friday stated he had never taken any funds from 1MDB for personal gain and pinned the blame for the latest report on former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has in recent months called for Najib's resignation. However, opposition politicians have taken Najib to task over his "ambiguous denial", while WSJ is standing by its story, saying its report was based on solid documentation proof. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said on Sunday that his critics used social media to play up false issues, and pointed to the storm over 1MDB's debts as an example. He said Fitch Ratings had said 1MDB did not pose a systemic risk to the country, and that the agency was confident with the state investment arm's rationalisation plan. "So when there are quarters that play this up, it's all just perception. In this era, with social media, their purpose is not to find truth, but to carry the latest news, regardless whether it is accurate, false, or semi-false. "Their goal is not to expose the truth, but to change the people's perception. Perception towards the government, and perception towards the leaders," said Najib. He said that under Barisan Nasional's rule, the country became renowned for practicing moderate, progressive Islam, and that "even non-Muslims are respected and given a good place in our country." "So we must defend the Umno and BN leadership because we know the opposition is weak, even though they are still together. With their conflicting ideologies, they cannot bring stability to Malaysia. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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