Don’t fall for Najib’s rebranding exercise as the people’s champion

Najib Razak’s application for a plot of land and a house allegedly worth a total of RM100 million in Kuala Lumpur has raised eyebrows and caused pandemonium, not only among opposition and government MPs but also the public who want to know what exactly made the present government under Ismail Sabri Yaakob want to finalise it.

The rumours on the 1.13ha lot said to be located at Bukit Petaling that have gone viral on social media stunned everyone, even several ministers as it was alleged, but yet Najib has the cheek to rebut all allegations via his Facebook, saying he had every right and was entitled to a free house as ex-PM under the law.

At this point of this difficult, hard-hit Covid-19 time, is there really a need for such a request to be considered at all?

People in the hundreds and thousands lost their jobs and incomes, not to mention the poor and the needy who are finding it even more difficult to make ends meet and those who can’t put food on the table for their loved ones.

Why does this Umno-led government have to give priority to this application, even discussing the matter in a Cabinet meeting?

Don’t they have anything better to discuss? The government had harped on its lack of money as an excuse when issues concerning thousands of contract doctors or for additional aid were brought up by some quarters.

Yet, this request of Najib’s seems to be of such importance that it was even brought up in the Cabinet during this hard, tough Covid-19 time! And just for this man who has tainted the image of the country via his mind-boggling and embarrassing 1MDB scandal, the government is going to approve RM100 million! Ismail must be kidding.

Ismail must not allow his dignity and conscience as PM to be on the line or throw it down the drain. If the plight of the rakyat really matters, such a request should not have been discussed in the first place.

Najib claimed that he made the request for the land way back after the 14th general election. He also expressed dismay over why the matter was only raised now, years after the application was made. And he said he has reason to believe that this is linked to the ongoing Melaka state election as the motive.

But in yesterday’s Dewan Rakyat proceeding, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz revealed that Najib made the application after Budget 2022 was passed. Somebody must be telling a lie! Which is which?

Several ministers including Zafrul were said to have protested the move by Ismail to approve the award of the premium plot of land as well as a luxury house for his fellow Umno member, Najib. Several others had also made known their strong reservations.

This privilege Najib is asking for from the government will only make the rakyat hate the government more and lose faith in it. Ismail and the rakyat, too, must not fall for Najib’s rebranding effort to make himself the champion of the people, using the “Bossku” tagline through the use of social media platforms.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.