DECISION TIME FOR MALAYSIA:
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary statement
7th May 2018
1. Malaysians at this general election face a choice. On the one hand is the proven track record of Barisan Nasional under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Since he took office in 2009, Malaysia’s gross national income has increased by more than 50%, 2.7 million jobs have been created, unemployment and inflation have been kept low and poverty reduced significantly. Indeed, the Malaysian economy is growing at such a fast rate that the World Bank had to increase its estimates for the nation’s growth three times over 2017, and the final figure, 5.9 percent, outstripped all their forecasts.
2. In addition, the Prime Minister introduced the most far-reaching measures since independence to strengthen free speech and democracy. For example, the Internal Security Act was repealed; the State of Emergency that had existed for over 60 years ended; media freedom was increased by scrapping restrictions on newspaper publishing licenses; the Universities and University Colleges Act was reformed to allow undergraduates to participate in political activities; and the Peaceful Assembly Act was passed, for the first time enshrining in law the right to peaceful protest.
3. So the Prime Minister’s plan for the economic well-being and security of Malaysia and its people is delivering, and he welcomes the chance for Malaysians to judge the Government on its track record.
4. The alternative choice for Malaysians is the opposition coalition, whose prime minister candidate is self-confessed dictator Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He is a man obsessed by control, who thinks after 22 years in power that Malaysia can only be run by him, who demonised and jailed his opponents, muzzled the media and freedom of speech, seriously damaged the education system, created a class of crony capitalists, interfered in the electoral system, and bent the judiciary to his will by suspending the Supreme Court, sacking the senior judiciary when they didn’t agree with him and changing the constitution.
5. This is a man who routinely throws outrageous and false allegations against whomever his opponent is, even calling the Prime Minister a thief without any evidence whatsoever. However, a thief believes everybody steals.
6. Since his son Mukhriz lost badly in the 2013 UMNO elections, for which he blamed the Prime Minister, Mahathir has been on a mission to topple this democratically-elected Government. Having failed to pave the way for his son, Mahathir is now working with the opposition out of desperation.
7. Unlike BN, the opposition has no track record of delivery whatsoever, and now has a grand deception at its heart. Their ‘reformasi’ campaign was created against Mahathir personally, and many of their leaders were jailed by him. The reality is that DAP hold the vast majority of the opposition’s parliamentary seats, compared to the single seat of Mahathir’s party, and therefore control the coalition. DAP are using the nonagenarian as camouflage to split the Malay vote. Should they win, they will never let Mahathir become Prime Minister – they know him too well. And, having initially promised to hand power to Anwar Ibrahim after six months, already Mahathir is saying at least 2-3 years.
8. The truth is that if the opposition ever tried to form a government, their ideological differences would tear them apart, and their irresponsible and populist economic policies would bankrupt the country. It would be a disaster for Malaysia. The Malaysian people are wiser than to allow it.
DATUK SERI TENGKU SARIFFUDDIN,
PRESS SECRETARY TO THE PRIME MINISTER
