Najib: Malaysia not a failed state

In his blog post, Dr Mahathir painted a bleak future for the country, claiming the economy is likely to collapse under the weight of the 1MDB issue and its debt pile said to near RM42 billion, and pointed to sliding value of the ringgit of over 4 points against the greenback and likely to dip further.

He told the youths while the existing government was not a ideal one, that did not mean Malaysia was a failed state or a rogue nation.

Najid added the transformation achieved has already been rewarded by recognition by series of global bodies including the World Bank, World Economic Forum and Institute of Management Development, placing Malaysia higher in their rankings for ease of doing business and competitiveness.

“These credible and influential reports highlighting Malaysia’s attractiveness as a preferred destination are testament to the private-public partnership, epitomised by Pemudah”, he said when launching the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) Annual Report 2014 yesterday. Najib said, using the Islamic term “maqasid shariah”.

Putrajaya’s clampdown on media that had reported critically of 1MDB, such as The Edge and website Sarawak Report, as well as perceived interference in agencies investigating 1MDB, also saw a recent article in The Diplomat magazine describing the country under Najib as “going rogue” for failure to uphold the rule of law.

Najib said although retirees were no longer in government service, they could still contribute to the nation with their strong mind and spirit.

“But I am confident that we Malaysians are up to this challenge”.

He said the study showed that Malaysia led other countries by a wide margin in terms of having an Islamic economic “ecosystem” and was considered a matured Islamic economy. Likewise for the halal industry.

The Prime Minister had claimed that critics of his administration had “vested interests”, and lamented that Malaysia’s youth trusted such propaganda more than their own government.

He added that such funding was also given to Malaysia in 2013 for effectively combatting the widening influence of Daesh. “We should adopt a more balanced view when criticising the government and its leaders. But, if there are good aspects, do not deny them as something positive and beneficial for the people”, he said.

“Is it a sin to help and provide a social safety net to the poor and needy?”