Former prime minister Najib Razak’s recent Facebook post had caused an uproar among Malaysian citizens and most of them were not pleased with what he said.
Similarly, Lawyer Azhar Harun, popularly known as Art Harun, felt the same way and wrote a lengthy Facebook post today (May 25), in response to Najib’s ridiculous claims, reported Free Malaysia Today.
He said the stock market had not fallen because of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and its announcements on the true debt of the nation, like Najib had claimed, but it is because of earlier misrepresentations given by Najib when he was prime minister.
Source: FMT
He stated that Najib had “massaged” the figures to misrepresent the national debt, and for this reason, foreign investors, captivated by the numbers, had put their money in Malaysian stocks.
But now that they have been informed by an open and transparent government about the real situation at hand, they are withdrawing their investments.
“YB Pekan is apparently concerned that statements made by the MoF (Ministry of Finance) about the real and true position of the national debts and the fact that 1MDB is insolvent would affect the share market,” he said, referring to Najib.
“Thank you YB for caring about this nation’s well-being. It is so refreshing to see that you care about the well-being of this nation.”
“If only you had cared for this nation’s interests while you were the prime minister, we, the rakyat, would not have to work so hard to throw you and your government out. Alas, it is water under the bridge now,” he wrote in the post that oozed sarcasm.
Azhar was referring to Najib’s post on Wednesday (23 May), where he criticised the PH government for disclosing that Malaysia’s debt is now 65 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that it was a huge difference from the earlier official figure of 50.9 percent.
Source: FMT
Najib claimed that this had caused financial markets to unsettle, alarmed credit rating agencies, and affected investors’ confidence in institutions such as Bank Negara Malaysia.
However, Azhar took Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s side for being truthful about the new figures.
“All this while, you, YB Pekan, and your government have been telling us and the world – plus all the market analysts – that our national debt was only about RM700 million, representing only 50.8% of our GDP,” he said.
“The market loved that. Especially those foreign analysts, all of whom also predicted that you and your party would win the election hands down. They lapped up your statement like a dog. And bought our shares in droves.”
“Now it appears that your statement wasn’t accurate. In fact, it could be a misrepresentation, or even a lie. Now the truth comes out. And of course, the foreigners were alarmed. They did not really like the true and accurate numbers. So they sold their shares and left.”
Azhar then gave an example to this situation in a very creative way.
Source: Facebook
Azhar then added that the PH government went by the principles of CAT – competency, accountability and transparency – “none of which you or your government had practised”. Ouch!
“This government refuses to misrepresent the numbers in order to lull the public or the foreign analysts and funds into a false sense of security,” he said.
“Yes, we need investment. Yes, our stock market needs to be propped up. But we prefer to attract investments in the good old-fashioned way, namely by building trust and laying out a good foundation and developing fundamentals. Not by massaging numbers.”
“This government has the moral turpitude to be truthful. And due to the mess that you created, this government has no choice but to start from scratch. And the people of Malaysia has to bear the brunt.”
“This is not due to Pakatan’s manifesto. It is due to your shenanigans!”
He then ended his post by referring to the example he gave earlier.
“Take the example I gave you above, YB Pekan. Would you say the mistress left because of Mr Tan’s wife? Or did she leave because of Mr Tan?”
What do you think of Art Harun’s response to Najib’s Facebook post?
Also read: Here’s What Najib Has to Say About the New Govt in His Latest FB Post
