YET another letter penned by Datuk Seri Najib Razak before the former prime minister was sent to jail over his RM42 mil SRC International corruption conviction has gone up on his Facebook page.
This time, Najib “poured his heart” out to the public in a lengthy letter, saying the last few years have been challenging for him and his family and is expected to get more difficult in the years to come.
“When this message is published, my fate would have already been determined,” he said in the letter published yesterday (Aug 26). “I may not have another chance to pour out my heart to you all. Perhaps this (letter) is all that I can leave behind.”
“My only request is that you all pray for things to get easier (for me and my family).”
Najib, who has been active in politics and public service since 1976, noted the common saying that when you rise, you should not step on your opponents, and when you fall, you should not drag down your friends with you.
“I guess in politics, you should never be a gentleman,” Najib concluded. “But that’s my personality; how can I be someone I am not?
He added: “All this time, I wanted to do my best and do what I could.”
“My achievements”
The Pekan MP then listed some of his achievements while in power, including navigating the country out of several financial crises, doubling the size of the economy from RM700 bil to RM1.4 tril and building national assets by increasing the value of Khazanah’s assets by almost four-folds from RM33 bil to RM116 bil.
He also took credit for the three-fold strengthening of Lembaga Tabung Haji assets from RM21 bil to RM74 bil, the raising of Employee Provident Fund (EPF) assets by almost three folds from RM300 bil to RM800 bil and ensuring that Petronas reserves increased by almost six-fold from RM30 bil to RM176 bil.
Besides that, Najib said he increased the total national wealth from RM800 bil to more than RM2 tril and consistently provided the highest grants and dividends to EPF, Tabung Haji and Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) contributors when he was prime minister.
Najib also listed the following contributions by him to the country:
- Fairly and equitably provided welfare assistance through direct cash grants, increased its rates and expanded eligibility year after year
- Helped the growth of the public service by providing facilities, increments, income and bonuses every year
- Put the people first with the introduction of the 1Malaysia Clinic, Urban Transformation Centres (UTCs), housing projects for the rakyat, Haj quota and 1Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M)
- Enabled fisherman, smallholder farmers, low-income families, singles, school children, higher education and Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) students and young people to have affordable housing, public transport and modern infrastructures, such as toll-free highways or modern train services connecting the Klang Valley, as well as in Sabah and Sarawak
- Defended the survival of the rakyat during times of desperate need by providing the Employment Insurance Scheme and fighting for the issuance of the EPF i-Sinar, i-Lestari and i-Citra withdrawal programmes
“Only God understands my sacrifices”
Najib said he “never left the rakyat” behind and was “only interested in doing my job”.
“It is okay if no one appreciates these,” he lamented. “Such is life after all.
“I sincerely led Malaysia. I gave my best and tried my best, he said, adding: “Only Allah knows all. Only He understands all of my sacrifices throughout this journey.”
These sacrifices include “carrying the ark” of UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) and its millions of members by managing the party from top to bottom and ultimately reducing the burden on the people, to personal sacrifices of his time and family life.
“Now, I am faced with difficult challenges that will test me and my family. I will face them,” he said. “Perhaps this is the price of my sacrifice.”
Last Tuesday (Aug 23), the Federal Court rejected Najib’s final appeal in his SRC International corruption case and upheld his seven charges of power abuse, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, RM210 mil fine and 12-year jail sentence. He is currently serving his sentence in the Kajang jail.
Shortly after Najib went to jail, his Facebook page posted an emotional letter by him to his family where he lamented that he had not spent enough time with them because of his work. – Aug 27, 2022
