Najib not as great as his father, Dr M says
(Malay Mail Online) – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said last night that Datuk Seri Najib Razak is “not anywhere” near his father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, the country’s second prime minister.
Dr Mahathir said he had “worked hard” to prepare Najib for the role of prime minister but the latter has fallen short of expectations.
“I wrote letters to Abdullah, I told him to make him the deputy prime minister,” Dr Mahathir said, referring to Najib’s predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“I worked very hard and I expected that when he took over that he would perform like his father at least because his father was a great man but I found that he was doing funny things like asking Singapore’s permission to build a bridge,” he told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia dinner at Hotel Istana.
The longest serving prime minister again criticised Najib for not building the bridge and for consulting Singapore “every now and then”, and accused the latter of being very “friendly” with the United States.
The so-called “Crooked Bridge” was Dr Mahathir’s idea to replace the Causeway linking Johor and Singapore, but was discontinued by his successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and believed to be among reasons why the latter was hounded out of office by the man who put him there.
“And there were many other things that he did, which to me was not productive, not good for the country.
“But I held myself back, I said well, new prime ministers must have new ideas, must have new strategies… but then came 1MDB,” Dr Mahathir said tonight, referring to the troubled state-owned investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
Dr Mahathir said governments are “not in the business” of buying and selling companies but in collecting taxes.
He pointed out that until today, no one has been able to explain how 1MDB had allegedly amassed its reported RM42 billion debt and where the money had gone.
“Something is very, very wrong. Money that I could trace, about RM14 billion to RM20 billion has been lost, this I cannot accept.
“I cannot accept the prime minister set up a company which borrowed money with government guarantee and then cannot explain where the money has gone to,” he said.
He added that every single sen of the government’s money must be accounted for.
“Even though I supported Najib strongly before but what he has done with 1MDB is not something I can accept.
“It is irresponsible, it may even become criminal,” he said.
Dr Mahathir has been at the forefront of the attacks on Najib and his government, and has been actively pushing for the prime minister’s early resignation, believing if the latter stays in government, it could cost BN Putrajaya in the 14th general election.
