Denying he stole from the country’s coffers and claiming he had been treated badly, the defiant former prime minister blames voters who did not appreciate BN’s contributions and believed PH’s falsehoods.
- Maintained Umno and BN did no wrong
- Declared PH’s promises cannot be implemented
- Alleged he had been treated badly despite having ensured a smooth transition of power
- Denied stealing from the people
- Accused rivals of destroying his brand, attacking Rosmah
- Lamented how Malaysians want to hear nonsense and slander as opposed to the truth
- Claimed BN played fairly but those who committed fouls won
- Groused about police officers eating chocolate and other food from his refrigerator
Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday gave his take of why Barisan Nasional (BN) lost GE14, blaming voters whom he said did not appreciate his government’s contributions and believed Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) falsehoods.
Addressing Umno members in his constituency of Pekan, the former Umno president maintained that his party and coalition did no wrong.
He asserted that the country’s progress and development were the results of Umno and BN’s efforts, and maintained that both conducted themselves with civility and courtesy during their general election campaign.
Among others, he listed down the aid given to fishermen, farmers, smallholders, Malaysians in general through the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) and raises for the civil servants as evidence of such efforts.
“However, what we have done, which I categorise as the success of the national transformation policies, has created an unexpected result.
“Unfortunately, what we have done, our contributions, did not receive the appropriate appreciation,” he said.
Najib admitted he was disappointed with BN’s shock defeat but alleged this was due to the slander, insults and personal attacks hurled by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“The campaign was filled with personal attacks, slander, hatred and promises that most clearly cannot be implemented. Unfortunately, it led to the defeat of Umno and BN in the general election.
“I do not mind losing if the other party’s agendas are better, but instead I know in my heart the campaign was just to discredit BN leaders,” he said.
The former BN chairman said before the election, PH leaders travelled nationwide allegedly to “save” Malaysia, but after the May 9 polls, they claimed the country was now in stable condition.
“During the 14th general election campaign, they said the economy was so bad that the country was going bankrupt, with national debt piling up.
“Suddenly, three days after administering the country, they say it is a strong economy, with a lot of reserves and they are able to manage the national debt.
“Is it possible, within three days, for a country regarded as bankrupt before, to be strong economically now?
“Do they have a magic lamp, an Aladdin’s lamp, to rub and there’s no longer a need to ‘save’ Malaysia? They won by twisting facts.”
Najib said the promise by PH to lower oil prices had not been implemented and the price remained the same as before the transition of power.
“Oil prices to be at RM1.50, tolls to be abolished, National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans to be written off and others.
“They are already in power; how much is the price of fuel? We will wait for the price to drop to see how they cope.
“I know because I used to be the finance minister. When the price of fuel is at RM2.30, the subsidy to be borne by the government is RM600 million a month.
“If the price is lowered to less than RM1.50 per litre, it may double, to RM1.5 billion.
“Why promise lower fuel costs? Why give false hope? We did not give fake promises; we promised what we could do.”
Najib also lamented that he had been treated badly despite having ensured a smooth transition of power after BN was defeated.
He cited critics who had claimed that he would declare an emergency to hold on to power.
“But did I declare an emergency? No, right? I gave up my powers in a good manner.
“But even though I gave up my powers in a good way, I have not been treated well.
“I have received pressure after pressure. I think all of you know, (pressure) on me, my wife, my children, even the homes of my children were ransacked,” he said.
In his maiden speech since the toppling of the BN government, Najib denied stealing from the country’s coffers.
“I did not steal from the people,” he told a crowd of at least 500 at the Umno building in Pekan
The people of his constituency, he insisted, knew that he was neither a thief nor a crook.
“You know me, I have served here for 42 years,” he said, to shouts of “We love you Datuk Seri!”
Instead, Najib believes he had been targeted due to his previous positions as Umno president and prime minister.
“To topple the party, they had to target the president. They would do anything as long as my brand was destroyed.”
This was also the reason, he believes, why his wife Rosmah Mansor came under attack from those opposed to him.
“They claimed that the decisions I made must first be referred to my wife. This is nothing but slander.”
Najib stressed that all decisions were made collectively in the Cabinet as opposed to being made in his house.
“I did not say that we had to wait first because I had to refer to my wife.
“But because my wife has a Master’s degree and is quite in the know of things, sometimes she lets slip certain things.
“But this doesn’t mean that she has absolute power, I didn’t practice such a thing,” he stressed.
He also lamented how most Malaysians would prefer to watch “slander” on YouTube as opposed to watching the news on the country’s economic advancement.
“They open YouTube, watch ‘Najib does this, Rosmah does that’, it’s ‘nice’ for them. I saw that the views even reached up to 900,000.
“People want to hear nonsense and slander as opposed to the truth. So the truth has been defeated by lies.
“I’m hurt because of this. It’s like playing football, we play fairly but those who committed fouls win,” he added.
A day earlier, Najib had groused about police officers demanding meals be provided for them when they raided his children’s homes and helping themselves to food in his refrigerator, including chocolates.
He also criticised the “cavalier and irresponsible” manner in which the raid was conducted, adding that the widespread publicity surrounding the seizure of belongings has embarrassed and humiliated his family.
Reacting to Najib’s complaints, Bukit Aman CCID director Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh said they will take stern action against their personnel who had contravened police standard operating procedure while conducting raids at Najib’s house.
He revealed that six “very senior” ground commandants were assigned to each of Najib’s properties to oversee the search.
“The commanders responsible for each of these premises were personally and categorically instructed by me to carry out their duties professionally and accord utmost respect to the participants,” he said in a statement.
However, he compelled those making the allegations to put forward their proof and immediate action will be brandished.
“I request that more details be provided on the incident that took place and also identify, if possible, the police personnel who are involved,” he added.
“I will not tolerate such unprofessional conduct and stern action will be taken against the personnel concerned in contravention of our police standard operating procedure, if the allegations are found to be true,” said Amar.
He also addressed allegations from Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor who said authorities were spreading leaks involving their raids.
“All the officers were strictly prohibited from carrying their handphones with them during the searches except for the commander and his deputy and that is solely for the purpose of communication,”
He also said that photographs and videos that were taken were done by official photographers.
“As such police urge the relevant parties to provide the details of the leaked photographs if any, to verify whether the photographs came from the police themselves as there were family members there,” he said.
