Najib claims he paid price for telling the truth in GE14

Najib claims he paid price for telling the truth in GE14


Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today said he had paid the price for telling the truth to the people in the 14th general election.

As then prime minister, Najib said, unlike Pakatan Harapan, he was unable to make certain promises, including on toll abolition and reduction of oil prices.

"In GE14, I had a choice. Whether to promise 'heaven on earth' that would be impossible to fulfil, or I could tell the people the truth.

"I chose to speak the truth. Because I knew as prime minister and then finance minister, it would be impossible to abolish all tolls, impossible for petrol price to go down to RM1.50, impossible for PTPN loans to be abolished, to give RM2,000 BR1M, to replace GST with SST," said Najib who cited Harapan's GE14 manifesto.

"The people must get what they were promised. Which means, as then prime minister, I need to (decide whether to) tell the truth or like, and I can't bear to lie,"

"The outcome, it's okay," he said during a programme with Makkal Sakthi Malaysia leaders at PWTC, Kuala Lumpur, today.

The Pekan MP said this in recounting reasons why as then BN chairperson he did not present a "populist manifesto" like Harapan.

Harapan made history in GE14 after it took over Putrajaya, ending BN's 60 years reign, including through mounting a campaign against the 1MDB scandal that eventually saw Najib charged in court.

Najib, 69, is currently facing his ongoing RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial.

Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had on July 28, 2020, sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and RM210 million fine after finding him guilty of seven criminal charges linked to RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.

Last December, a three-member Court of Appeal bench unanimously upheld the trial judge’s conviction and granted a stay of execution pending a final appeal to the Federal Court.

Najib further said history will prove that he is telling the truth to the people.

"History will tell that I told the truth and I did the right thing. I can sleep soundly at night [...] I didn't lie to Malaysians.

"Our rivals (from Harapan), they chose to lie and this is what we must constantly remind people, 'do you want them to return to power?'

"This is a big question of morals and ethics. If they can lie to Malaysians, they would dare to do many other things," said Najib.