‘Economy will suffer if Pakatan wins’

BATU PAHAT: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says if Pakatan Harapan wrests power, the country’s stock market and currency will take a plunge.

“If they abolish tolls, GST and PTPTN student loans as stated in their election manifesto, the national debt will increase by RM430bil, with the total rising to more than RM1 trillion based on a study done by the Finance Ministry.

“It is the people who will ultimately suffer,” he said when laun­ching Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia 2018 event at Stadium Batu Pahat yesterday.

The Prime Minister said Pakatan’s promise of abolishing the GST may not necessarily reduce the prices of goods and services as it claimed, adding that the reintroduction of the Sales and Services Tax (SST) of 10% may result in a “double jeo­pardy” with prices going higher.

Dismissing the Pakatan manifesto as one made up of “Pak Pandir” (village idiot) policies, he said its policies would result in an increase in the government debt-to-GDP ratio from 50.8% to over 80%.

He lambasted the Opposition for making irresponsible pledges simply to win votes.

“We cannot be populist in nature but if you want to gain the support of the rakyat, it must be done responsibly and with principles.”

In comparison, Najib said Barisan Nasional’s manifesto had received positive reviews from local and international organisations, inclu­ding the World Bank, JP Morgan and Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER).

“The World Bank revised our growth this year from 5.4% to 5.6% while JP Morgan and MIER are also optimistic about the country’s growth. They made no mention of the Opposition manifesto. Why? Because there is no value in their manifesto!” he said.

On PNB, he said the fund manage­ment company had played a crucial role in the economic health of the country.

Najib unveiled PNB’s portal www.myasnb.com.my for its 13.4 million trust fund holders to manage their investments online.

Besides carrying out online tran­sactions, ASNB customers can now access their accounts, view balan­ces, print electronic statements and update their personal information online.

Later in Tanjung Piai, the Prime Minister urged Johoreans to support Barisan to ensure continuity and prevent the problems faced in Selangor and Penang.

He said Johor was rapidly beco­ming a southern economic powerhouse because both the state and Federal governments worked in tandem.

Mega project: Najib looking at a model of Menara PNB 118 at the launch of PNB’s Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia 2018 event at Stadium Batu Pahat.

“Look at Selangor, the water issue could not be resolved and they have the highest dengue cases in the country.

“Penang, on the other hand, has the highest number of hillslope development over the last 10 years,” he said in a meet-the-people session at Dataran Kukup.

The Barisan chairman said Pakatan would not be able to fulfil many of its pledges.

He said the massive oil and gas project in Pengerang received a huge boost when Saudi Aramco deposited US$7bil (RM28bil) into Petroleum Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) account late last month.

“This will help generate thousands of jobs,” he said.

Last February, Aramco signed a deal with Petronas to invest US$7bil for a 50% stake in its Rapid project at the Pengerang Integrated Com­plex.