PM Najib has too much power, says Kuala Terengganu Member of Parliament

by James Sivalingam@www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Kuala Terengganu MP Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad has stressed that too much centralized authority of the executive branch under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s administration is the main reason for some of the problems faced by Malaysia today.

At a press conference outside Dewan Rakyat, Raja Bahrin said, “In 2014, I called for Najib to relinquish his post as the Finance Minister as a lot of centralized authority was vested in him.

The Kuala Terengganu MP went on to point out that 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the government-owned strategic investment company, and Penang businessman Jho Low did not even seek the approval of Bank Negara to transfer billions of ringgit out of the country to the Cayman Islands, as discovered by the Sarawak Report.

“It’s not healthy. It (the transaction) just got the approval from the ‘higher ups’, which usually means the Finance Ministry or the Prime Minister,” he said. “Malaysia ranks among the highest in illegal cash flow out of the country after China – RM 1 trillion in ten years. It’s a chronic disease of the nation that has to be rectified, not perpetuated.”

The recent cabinet’s hesitation to approve a RM3 billion cash injection for 1MDB, Raja Bahrin feels is an indication that other ministers are also worried about 1MDB. “That was an unofficial vote of no-confidence of the Prime Minister by the cabinet ministers.”

Raja Bahrin also highlighted the openly lavish lifestyle of the first family, while the people have to deal with rising cost of living, oil, food and housing. “The Prime Minister himself, his wife and his step son seemed so closely associated with the production of big budget Hollywood films that cost USD 100 million each, buying luxury homes in the United States as well as having a stand out social profile abroad.”

Raja Bahrin, lamented that on the contrary, local fisherman are the worst hit with poverty as there is no political will to look after their welfare.

He said, “The fishermen in Kuala Kemaman, the oil and gas center of Malaysia only had RM 14 increase in wage in ten years – from RM 400 to RM 414. “Their catch is dwindling, and hence their income. Ministers promised to cancel licences to foreign boats a while back but have to still act on it.”

Back in 1997 the same ministry cancelled hundreds of licenses only to award them to a company owned by a prominent corporate figure, that further affected the income of the fishermen as it created a monopoly. “It’s obvious that cancellation of licenses can be done. It has been done before, why not now? “Where is the political will?” asked Raja Bahrin.