ROSMAH QUAKES FOR HER HANDBAGS, ULTRA LUXURIES: DR M VOWS BERSATU TO HUNT DOWN ‘EVERY PENNY’ FROM 1MDB

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad has outlined the party’s manifesto for the next general election.

It includes recovering every penny that has allegedly been ever “stolen” from 1MDB and the government if they win, he said.

“We will investigate very thoroughly the 1MDB money which has been misappropriated.

“We will chase down every penny from 1MDB and the government which was (allegedly ) stolen, which we know are in the hands of certain individuals,” he said, to great applause from the 5,000-strong crowd at the party’s official launch in Shah Alam last night.

Earlier, when Mahathir asked rhetorically what their new government would do if they were to win the 14th general election and form a government, the attentive crowd immediately started chanting, “Tangkap Najib” (Arrest Najib).

At the launch, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin also said they would ensure stolen money from 1MDB is returned to Malaysia, claiming this is something BN has failed to do until today.

He added if they are given the mandate to rule, he would like to form a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate 1MDB and to bring those involved to justice.

‘GST to go’

Muhyiddin also said the rakyat’s main concern now is the economy, he said, so they would reexamine the country’s economic policies to try to control the rising costs of living and focus on fixing the country’s economy.

Mahathir, meanwhile, said that they will get rid of the GST in stages to be eventually replaced with a sales tax, which received loud cheers and applause from the crowd.

They would try to fix the value of the Malaysian ringgit in a more effective manner without further burdening the rakyat, he said.

Mahathir also spoke out against certain foreign investments in Malaysia, saying that they would scrutinise massive land deals involving foreigners with the intention of placing their countrymen there.

Muhyiddin meanwhile pointed out the rakyat want a clean government with integrity, which is why they intend to focus on restoring integrity within the government administration through institutional reforms.

There will be no double standards in the enforcement of the law, said Mahathir.

Freedom of speech and of the press would be championed by their government, he added.

They would also respect dissenting political opinions, said the long-running former premier.

Institutional reforms promised

Both the Bersatu leaders also agreed there must be stronger separation of powers in the government.

“The powers of the prime minister must be limited.
“We cannot have a prime minister who is so powerful that he can abuse his power.

“The power that a prime minister has must be used to defend the rakyat, and not for his own interests,” Muhyiddin said.

Muhyiddin, who was former deputy prime minister and then deputy president of Umno, was sacked from the party after criticising Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s brainchild, the troubled state fund 1MDB.

He later formed Bersatu along with Mahathir and ousted Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir.

– M’kini