Tribute to the sixth prime minister

I AM compelled to write an open letter to give thanks to Datuk Seri

Najib Tun Razak and record my appreciation for his nine years’ tenure as the nation’s prime minister and 40 years of service to the nation.

I am 23 years old and a Pakatan Harapan supporter through and through. I am still in a state of euphoria after Pakatan’s win but I consider Najib as a good and effective PM of Malaysia. When he was head of the government, I never felt the slightest hatred for him.

I joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat a few months after the 13th General Election as I was interested in the party’s reform agenda and believed that it was the party of the future and had many talented, energetic and driven young politicians. But being part of the opposition does not translate into being unreasonable and unjust towards whoever ran the government.

I was (and still am) an ardent supporter of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and proponent of the “Reformasi” movement but I have never disliked Najib mainly because I consider him a gentleman and a sincere individual. It is beyond doubt that his political career was never dictated by personal interest but a sense of responsibility to make the country better, just like his late father had wished. Najib was committed to bringing Malaysia to greater heights since day one of his administration. This can be seen in how he managed to steer the country during the 2008-09 global economic recession. To save the country from falling into recession, he introduced stimulus packages or “pump-priming” amounting to billions of ringgit, boosting spending in the economy and increasing employment.

During his administration, Malaysia moved away from unsustainable economic policies to those that were feasible and pragmatic. It was during his time that subsidies were slashed and a new tax system was implemented.

In general, subsidies are good but relying on them for a prolonged period of time puts a burden on the country’s finances and government coffers. Although removing the subsidies resulted in the increase in prices of goods, it certainly helped to lower the deficit and debt levels. Cutting subsidies also gave the government space to spend more on physical development and public infrastructure. If Malaysians followed closely the concept of Pareto Efficiency, they would have understood why Najib had to make this unpopular fiscal planning.

Part of the reason why I can say Najib was a good PM is that he managed to diversify our economy. In 2009, our country’s dependence on the oil and gas sector was at 41%. Seven years later, it had been reduced to 16%. That is beyond impressive.

Interestingly, one of Najib’s greatest achievements as PM was to make public transport, particularly rail transport, expansive and easily accessible. In just six years, he transformed the public transport system with the completion of the MRT SBK line and the extension of the Gombak-Kelana Jaya LRT and the Ampang Line and the construction of LRT3 and MRT SSP. The LRT extension project saved me from getting stuck in traffic congestion on the DamansaraPuchong Highway to get to the LRT station. It used to take me about 30 minutes. Now, it takes me only five minutes to get to the new Lembah Subang (and Ara Damansara) station.

Lastly, I must praise his administration for implementing the Goods and Services Tax, which was indispensable when our country was hit by the fall in global oil prices. This loss of revenue was offset by the collection from GST which amounted to over RM40bil. GST was also important to keep our fiscal deficit at a desired level so that the country’s credit rating could be maintained.

Without revenue from GST, the fiscal deficit would have soared, hence downgrading the credit rating of Malaysia which in turn would make it harder for our country to borrow to expand the economy and spend on infrastructure projects. Having a down-graded credit rating would also chase investors away from our country.

I am grateful to have had Najib as PM for the past nine years. I regard him as an effective prime minister even though he was unpopular. But he was pragmatic, bold and strong in leading the country through times of uncertainty and political instability.

I wish him all the best in his future endeavours and may God grant him good health.

ADDIN AIMAN Petaling Jaya