Don’t throw 50 years of hard work away, says Najib Razak

PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday called upon the people not to throw 50 years of hard work and dedication away by voting in the Opposition.

Najib Razak said the Opposition, made up of three different parties with conflicting views, was unable to even decide who among them would lead the coalition if they came to power.

“The BarisanNasional presents you with a proven track record, while the Opposition comes to you with nothing,” he said in the “Conversation with the Prime Minister” programme aired over TV3 last night.

“We began our transformation programme in 2009 to bring the nation to greater heights and we can now see and feel the results of this agenda. “We have more to do and we appeal to the rakyat to give us the mandate to complete this.”

Najib razak, who is also the finance minister, said Malaysia’s economy had become strong and was on track and had been able to buck the external global economic trend.

In the last quarter, Malaysia achieved a 6.4 per cent growth, indicating the resilience of the national economy.

“I can quote you the statistics that indicate the strong resilience of our national economy,” he said.

“When we talk about benefits to the people from 2009 to 2011, our Gross National Income (GNI) per capita has grown from US$6,670 to US$9,970, roughly about 49 per cent.

“There is no country in the world that has achieved this kind of result.” On the BR1M, Najib Razak dismissed allegations that it was an election gimmick and said it was part and parcel of the BarisanNasional’s economic strategy to assist the people.

Najib Razak said the government had been giving plenty of indirect subsidies to the people, especially in the form of fuel subsidies, which was open to abuse. “However, with BR1M, we are targetting only a selected group who need this help,” he said.

“We have to date spent RM3 billion on BR1M, but on fuel subsidies, we spend about RM30 billion annually.”

Najib Razak said BR1M had also helped the local economy get stronger by giving the people a little more spending power.

Asked when the next general election would likely be held, Najib said it would be held within the ambit of the the Federal Constitution.