Out with the emperor Najib

Najib more like emperor than PM, says former minister

Published: 30 April 2015 5:08 PM

Datuk Seri Najib Razak is acting more like an emperor than a prime minister, says former Umno minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 30, 2015.Datuk Seri Najib Razak is acting more like an emperor than a prime minister, says a former Umno minister, adding to the chorus of voices urging him to step down.

Writing in his blog, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said like an emperor Najib was rich and did not feel the need to account for his actions or explain anything to anyone despite intense criticism levelled at his governance and some of his government’s policies.

"Datuk Seri Najib Razak thinks he is Louis XIV. That infamous French King proudly declared that he was literally the state of France (L’etat cest moi), which meant that whatever he said was the law and no other authority mattered.

"No one could or had the right to question him. He spent the state’s money as he liked and accounted to no one, not even to the papal authority. His commands were followed and his coterie of loyal servants prospered," he wrote.

He said by the same token Najib was the country’s “first emperor”.

"He is very rich because, like Louis XIV, he inherited an enormous amount of wealth, so his office has claimed," Zaid said.

He was referring to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office that Najib's wealth came from a family inheritance after reports by The New York Times that his stepson, Riza Aziz, had bought expensive properties in New York City.

"When his siblings stepped in to say their late father – Malaysia’s second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak – had not been rich, Najib did not explain where he had, in fact, got his money from.

"He did not even bother to tell people how much he is worth, because like an emperor, he does not need to explain anything to anyone," he wrote.

Zaid, who served for six months under Najib's predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after the watershed 2008 general election, said that a modern prime minister under a parliamentary system accepts that he is under both legal and moral obligations to be answerable to the people who elected him.

This also means a prime minister accepts that he is a leader who has to account for his actions or inaction, including explaining in simple terms issues of public interest raised by the people, as honestly as he can.

However, Zaid said that when one of Najib's former bodyguards Sirul Azhar Umar killed Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu nine years ago, the prime minister did not feel the need to ask why.

"He was not at all interested to explain these strange circumstances when everyone else wants to know why this killing was carried out.

“He was only interested to swear in God’s name that he had not known her. Like an emperor, he does not need to account for or explain his actions, and by extension, those of his bodyguards.”

Turning his attention to debt ridden 1Malaysia Development Fund (1MDB), the former de facto law minister said that Najib, as the finance minister, was ultimately responsible for the state investment fund and yet, he had not bothered to explain why it had amassed debts totalling more than RM42 billion.

"He does not seem embarrassed that this government company had to hawk the streets recently for the RM2 billion it needed to make interest payments to the banks. But he does not bother to answer the many questions raised regarding 1MDB because he is an emperor."

Malaysians did not vote for an emperor in the 13th general election two years ago, said Zaid, adding that it was time that everyone came together to find a suitable person to replace Najib.

"Please join me with some friends on May 23 to explain further why we now need to look for a new prime minister. I will let you know when the venue is secured. Please show your support by peacefully working for the reinstatement of a proper prime minister."

Najib has been under pressure from certain quarters calling for his resignation, chief among them, former long serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been on a tirade against Najib since last year over his governance and selected national policies.

But in recent months, Dr Mahathir has upped the ante, urging the prime minister to step down over the1MDB scandal, for continuing the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) cash aid, and also over the murder of Altantuya.

He also told Umno to remove Najib or risk losing the next general election.

However, Najib said he would never back down or surrender, and stressed that his government was transparent.

In his speech during the launch of the Performance and Delivery Unit annual report at Angkasapuri in Kuala Lumpur two days ago, Najib said that he was aware of the mounting criticism against him, but added that he would not be alone as long as his "noble goals" remained alive. – April 30, 2015.

Yes, out with the emperor Najib, in with KU Li as PM!