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Tag: Najib Razak

  • Najib Razak: Instigators, Slanderers, Not Promised Heaven

    Najib Razak: Instigators, Slanderers, Not Promised Heaven

    KUALA LUMPUR — In a thinly-veiled reference to critics, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told Malaysian Muslims today (July 2) that instigators and slanderers will not be guaranteed a spot in heaven no matter how pious they may be.

    “Even if you never miss your prayers, but you are an instigator, slanderous, inciteful and cause disunity, you will not be guaranteed heaven,” Mr Najib said, citing a hadith, or prophetic tradition, that promised heaven to those who can respect each other. He was speaking at a charity event today.

    “And carrying a big badge on your chest will also not guarantee you paradise,” Mr Najib added smilingly, a statement seemingly made against his political foes.

    Mr Najib has come under pressure in recent months, with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad actively campaigning for his resignation.

    Dr Mahathir has claimed that Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition, would lose the next general elections if Mr Najib remains its leader.

    Dr Mahathir has also repeatedly criticised Mr Najib’s handling of the state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), especially over its reported RM42 billion (S$15 billion) debt. Mr Najib, who is also Finance Minister, is chairman of the firm’s advisory board.

    Dr Mahathir has called Mr Najib’s handling of the 1MDB issue “verging on criminal” during an interview with the New York Times that was published in mid-June and at a forum last month,

    Dr Mahathir called for the people to “acknowledge the crime that is happening here”.

    1MDB is currently being investigated by the Auditor-General and the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee over its dealings.

    Mr Najib has steadfastly refused to resign and accused Dr Mahathir of making “insinuations, speaking half-truths, cracking misleading jokes and twisting statements to make his views exciting and palatable”, he wrote in a blog post dated June 12.

    “It is a shame that Dr Mahathir has, yet again, turned against the leadership of his own party. These public attacks will only harm UMNO, the government and ultimately Malaysia.

    “This unbecoming behaviour will be an unfortunate postscript to his legacy,” Mr Najib wrote, referring to the United Malays National Organisation.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • PM Najib Razak Explains Sedition Act May Be Used Against Anti-Church Protestors

    PM Najib Razak Explains Sedition Act May Be Used Against Anti-Church Protestors

    The Cabinet today agreed that police must investigate the protest by a group of residents against a church in Taman Medan, and warned that action could be taken under the law.

    Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that the Sedition Act or other existing laws could be used against the protesters.

    “The protesters should have discussed with the church, instead of taking actions that have created worry and restlessness in this multi-racial country.

    “Police will investigate the group that protested in Taman Medan. If they are found to have violated any laws, action can be taken under the Sedition Act or other laws,” Najib said in a statement this evening.

    “The people must abide by the country’s laws and practice respect of other religions as enshrined in the Constitution.

    “We also need to have an attitude of tolerance and mutual respect among communities of different religions,” Najib said.

    In the incident on Sunday, some 50 people gathered outside the new church to demand that the cross affixed to the building be removed.

    The protesters said the presence of a cross in a Muslim-majority area posed a challenge to Islam and could sway the faith of youths in their community. The cross was taken down by church leaders a few hours later.

    The Selangor government today announced that the church did not need to register itself with the local authorities nor did it need a permit to operate on the basis of constitutional guarantees on the freedom of religion.

    The Inspector-General (IGP) of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi were initially at odds over whether the protest was seditious.

    The IGP cleared the protesters of any wrongdoing, saying that they were only protesting the location of the church and were not against Christianity itself.

    But Zahid said the protesters’s actions were seditious and action could be taken against them.

    Khalid today said the police would investigate the matter and he would not interfere, even if action was taken against his older brother, Datuk Abdullah Abu Bakar, who had participated in the protest.

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

  • Najib Razak Was My Hope But He Broke His Promise – Dr Mahathir Mohamad

    Najib Razak Was My Hope But He Broke His Promise – Dr Mahathir Mohamad

    Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has unleashed a scathing attack against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, saying that the Prime Minister broke his promise to build a crooked bridge between Johor Baru and Singapore.

    In a five-part interview uploaded on a blog, Din Turtle, two days after Najib’s television interview, Dr Mahathir responded that the Prime Minister had supported the project when he took over office from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

    “He was my hope after Pak Lah (Abdullah) resigned. He said he would build the bridge when he became the prime minister even if Singapore opposes to it. But he didn’t do,” claimed the former premier.

    Dr Mahathir said he was unhappy when Najib broke his promise and appeared to “kowtow” to Singapore for not proceeding with the project.

    “If Singapore does not agree to this, it is not my fault. It is our sovereign right, it is in our own territorial area, territorial waters. Half of that Causeway belongs to us. I’m not touching Singapore’s side.

    “He (Najib) said he made an agreement with Singapore, where is our independence? Are we part of Singapore?” questioned Dr Mahathir.

    In a special interview with TV3 on Thursday, Najib said Dr Mahathir’s attacks against him could have been triggered due to their disagreement on the crooked bridge and the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) cash handouts.

    On BR1M, Dr Mahathir insisted that “feeding people with free money” was not an answer, but creating jobs and providing education to the people was what the country needs.

    “We should create jobs for the people, give them education, train them so that they can live and make money for themselves. You can give welfare, but only to the people who are in need of welfare,” he said.

    On the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy, Dr Mahathir said it was better for Najib to resign now to prevent Barisan Nasional from losing in the next general election as the investigations to the company could take years to complete.

    “It has to be now because we still have two years to recover. If he doesn’t go now, the Public Accounts Committee and others will be investigating the matter for the next two or three years and come GE, if he is still around, we will lose.

    “I think there will be a lot of trouble for everyone. And those who cover up, they will have to pay the price,” he said, adding that there should be ‘two or three’ independent commissions to look into the matter.

    “We need ‘neutral’ people to do a thorough investigation as to where the money went. Who was handling the money? Who is this Jho Low? Suddenly he became very important. He is not a civil servant, suddenly he has such power,” said Dr Mahathir.

    On former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar, who was convicted of the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, Dr Mahathir said that every person who was sentenced to death has the privilege to appeal to the King or to the Sultan.

    “I was formerly a prime minister, you know. My duty is to advise the King (on whether the appeal should be granted or not),” he said.

    Dr Mahathir, who met Sirul’s mother recently, insisted that the issue was not about politics.

    He said that Sirul as a policeman would not kill unless he was attacked or instructed by someone.

     

    Source: www.thestar.com.my

  • Najib Razak Defends Use Of Sedition Act To Prevent Acts Of Terrorism

    Najib Razak Defends Use Of Sedition Act To Prevent Acts Of Terrorism

    The police are justified in making arrests under the colonial-era Sedition Act 1948 to prevent acts of terrorism in the country, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

    The prime minister said use of the Act was a preventive measure and if not used, more people could become victims to acts of terror.

    The controversial law, criticised by many here and abroad for quelling legitimate dissent, was useful in preserving ethnic relations, he added.

    “We also place importance on ethnic and religious relations and that is why we are strengthening the Sedition Act. All this is meant to forestall something bad from happening to our country.

    “As the saying goes in English, ‘prevention is better than cure’. I believe that it is better for us to have preventive detention laws than having someone commit an act of terror.

    “If terrorism were to happen, many lives may be sacrificed,” Najib said in a speech to the police force at the 208th Police Day anniversary in Kuala Lumpur today.

    Najib said there was no reason for the government to apologise for using the Sedition Act, despite international criticism against the colonial-era law.‎

    “We should not be apologetic. Some may say this is not democratic, this ‎(violates) rights to freedom, and more.

    “But I want to say that there is no absolute freedom. There is no place for absolute freedom without responsibility in this country,” said Najib.

    He also gave his assurance that the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which will be tabled in Parliament soon, would not be used for political purposes.

    Najib added that the executive arm of the government would have no say in whether to detain an individual under the new act.

    “The government has no intention of using the new act for political purposes. That is why the power to detain is not placed under members of the administration.

    “We will place it under a credible body so that only those truly involved in terrorism can be detained under the new act. That way, we can guarantee Malaysia will continue to be safe,” said Najib.

    He also reminded Malaysians not to belittle the efforts of the police force in ensuring public safety.‎

    “We should not disrespect the police and look down on them by using words and insults that are unsuitable, as if the police act ‎freely as they like.

    “The groups that insult the police’s honour are completely irresponsible,” said Najib.

    The police have come under heavy criticism after nearly 90 anti-goods and services tax (GST) protesters were arrested on Monday as they were demonstrating at the Customs Department headquarters in Kelana Jaya.

    Opposition politicians have also accused Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim of taking selective action and targeting opponents of Barisan Nasional (BN).

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

  • Malaysian Leaders Express Condolences On Death Of Lee Kuan Yew

    Malaysian Leaders Express Condolences On Death Of Lee Kuan Yew

    Malaysian leaders today expressed their condolences on the death of former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

    “I am saddened to hear about the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, founding prime minister of Singapore,” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a statement today.

    “My thoughts and prayers are with‎ Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and family‎.”

    Kuan Yew, who became Singapore’s first prime minister in 1959, died at 3.18am today at Singapore General Hospital, where he had been admitted on February 5 suffering from pneumonia.

    A British-educated lawyer, Kuan Yew is widely credited with building Singapore into one of the world’s wealthiest nations on a per capita basis.

    In his statement, Najib paid tribute to Kuan Yew’s determination in developing Singapore into a modern city.

    “His achievements were great, and his legacy is assured,” Najib said.

    “Malaysia is committed to the future of our relationship with Singapore; to peace, stability and shared prosperity between our nations, and within Asean as a whole.”

    Meanwhile, PKR hailed Kuan Yew as “a nation-builder like the late Tunku Abdul Rahman”, saying that Singapore had “lost an important figure who has done much for his country”.

    “We must take stock of his efforts in administering Singapore, which focused the welfare of the people regardless of race or religion,” party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said in a statement today.

    “As the founder and first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew initiated developmental policies that were transparent and efficient, and was successful at attracting foreign investors to the point that his country was dubbed the ‘Swiss of Asia’.

    “We hope that the close and warm ties between Southeast Asian neighbours initiated during the time of Lee Kuan Yew and other past leaders can only be strengthened from hereon,” she said.

    Singapore declared a period of national mourning from today until March 29. State flags on all government buildings will be flown at half-mast from today until Sunday.

    A private family wake will be held today and tomorrow at Sri Temasek.

    Kuan Yew’s body will lie in state at Parliament House from Wednesday until Saturday for the public to pay their respects.

    The state funeral will be held at 2pm on March 29 at the University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore. He will be cremated at Mandai Crematorium. – March 23, 2015.

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com