AMID pressure, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he will not be silenced by Internet trolls who are calling him to stop criticising the Perikatan Nasional Government.
“I’ve been told to stop. Some have asked me to shut up and several others tell me not to blame the Government as our problems are due to COVID-19.
“But how am I to keep quiet? I’m talking about Employees Provident Fund (EPF). I touch on issues regarding people’s welfare and how we’re losing out key foreign direct investments (FDI),” he said, in a Facebook post.
Over the last few months, Najib has been criticising the Government for not doing enough to encourage the arrivals of FDI and retaining domestic direct investments (DDI) amid a slowing economy.
“Tesla is going to Indonesia. Amazon and Google are also planning to set up bases there. What is happening?
“We have the International Trade and Industries Ministry (MITI), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and InvestKL. What are they doing?” he asked last month.
Repeating the same matter, Najib said it did not make sense that the Government was using the pandemic as an excuse for losing out key investments, when neighbouring Indonesia had made great strides on the matter.
“They keep saying COVID-19 had slowed down investments but can they explain Indonesia then? Investments are pouring in to the nation despite the pandemic,” he said.
Najib added that Malaysia could only boast about Volkswagen’s presence in the country, which in fact, was brought in during his premiership.
In terms of e-commerce, Najib said that Indonesia keeps moving forward in the sector, even surpassing India.
“So, what are we doing about it? Nothing. What is our economic plan? Nothing. What is our plan to help our small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to gain a bigger market traction and boost the digital economy? Also, nothing.
“All we do is sit at home and wait. If there is a need to point fingers for our predicament, blame Najib again!” the Pekan MP remarked. – Jan 17, 2021.
