PM: M’sians fed up of Bersih
> Principle of law must be upheld to avert chaos, says Najib
LIMA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said Malaysians have become fed up with the Bersih electoral reform group and feel that its rallies do not bring any benefit to the country.
On the Bersih 5 rally in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, he said the attempt to topple the government through rallies was constitutionally and legally wrong.
“We Malaysians must uphold the principle of the rule of law. Otherwise, there will be chaos in the country and the people will suffer,” he told Malaysian journalists covering the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting 2016 here on Saturday.
On the presence of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the rally, Najib said it showed Mahathir would engage in activities contrary to what he did when he was prime minister, Bernama reported.
He also said Mahathir’s comments about the national economy were unsubstantiated political rhetoric, without the support of facts from international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.
“If we are in an economic crisis, surely the rating agencies would lower our rating.
“The IMF and World Bank would issue criticisms and discuss measures the government has to adopt,” he said.
Najib said the absence of such action by the international agencies showed that the country was being well-governed.
“There is no reason for us to be anxious,” he said.
On another issue, Najib met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and later said Australia had sought cooperation with Malaysia to curb the refugee issue affecting Australia following the influx of migrants.
“Among the methods of cooperation is the exchange of intelligence reports and interdiction, which is to take action if these migrants passed through our territorial waters,” he said.
Najib said Australia also expressed intent to enhance cooperation against terrorism threats.
He said the region might face new threats if Mosul is retaken by Iraq and cause Islamic State fighters to return to Southeast Asia.
On a bilateral meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Najib said his counterpart had invited Petronas to look into the possibility of developing onshore natural gas areas in that country.