KUALA LUMPUR: The way to develop the economy is by adding assets and not disposing them, says Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The former prime minister also used the analogy of a cake to describe the economy.
“When there are additional investments in infrastructure such as the Pan Borneo Highway, MRT and others, the cake gets bigger,” he said during his debate with Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday (May 12).
“When the cake is big, we can divide and share it with more people,” he added.
He said that if the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was introduced during his administration was still in effect, the government would have had an additional RM30bil in revenue.
He said the money could have been used to subsidise fishermen, smallholders and the quantum of the cash aid payment could have been increased.
He further likened the sale of assets to selling off an “oven” which bakes the cake.
“The way for us to develop our nation is by adding assets but not selling assets," he said
Anwar, meanwhile, asked who would decide whether the share of the economic “cake” was divided fairly.
“When I look at the cake, the upper political elite is rich and have eaten a larger share,” he added.
He, therefore, said that the problems tied in with the government’s management, integrity and accountability among others.
