Invoking father’s name, Najib pledges to continue Razak’s economic empowerment agenda
Malaysian caretaker prime minister Najib Razak promised to continue his father’s efforts to raise the economic and financial status of Malaysians
KUALA LUMPUR — Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised to continue his father's efforts to raise the economic and financial status of Malaysians if the coalition is re-elected in GE14.
The caretaker prime minister reminded Malaysians that the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein had worked hard to improve the economic position of the poverty-hit rural Malay community.
"As the son of Tun Razak, how could I do any different? He did more than anyone to uplift the Malays, the rural communities and the poor.
"He instilled in me that we must always fight for all Malaysians, and that we can never let any of our countrymen be left behind in our journey to national development," he said in a blog post.
The late Mr Razak was the second prime minister of Malaysia.
He said Felda settlers were aware of how much his father did for them and how much they meant to Razak, adding that he and the BN are "proud to serve them humbly to this day".
However, he said there was much left to done and asked Malaysians to give him the mandate so he could ensure that no one would be left behind on the road towards prosperity.
"Yet we have much more to do, and we have not always gotten everything right. But we learn from our mistakes so that we can do better for the people in the future. We are honest about that, and our track record is there for all to see. You can believe our promises for the future, such as increasing the minimum wage to RM1500 and creating three million new jobs, because we have delivered on our promises in the past," he wrote.
Citing some of the achievements under BN's ruling, Mr Najib said the 2.7 million jobs, the average economic growth of 5.4 per cent since 2010, and the Gross National Income up by over 50 per cent were some of the accomplishments of all Malaysians over the years.
He said introducing the goods and services Tax (GST) was one of the hardest decisions he has had to make, but added that it was needed because Malaysia was overly reliant on its oil resource, which was not infinite.
"This is something that was out of our hands and any downturn in the oil price, as we experienced a few years ago, could without intervention have led to a serious recession that would hit the people hard. GST, however, made us fiscally independent and stable. And while there may be some short-term pain, I assure you that the rewards will be long-term and felt in the years to come," he said.
Mr Najib added the government had introduced a various range of programmes to help the B40 group that have struggled from the increase of prices in some goods and services, including the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), helping the youth in training, micro-entrepreneurs getting credit, different type of assistance for women, rural communities and many others.
"You don't hear a lot about some of these programmes, and the Opposition will never mention them. But the people know the efforts BN and my government has been making on their behalf," he said.
As what would be his final post before the general election, tomorrow, Mr Najib said it had been a privilege to serve as the country's prime minister since 2009.
"It has been my privilege to serve you as Malaysia's Prime Minister since 2009, and I'm proud of what we have achieved together," he said. MALAY MAIL
