Najib’s 100 days — More negatives than positives

Written by Chan Kok Leong, The Edge

There are more negatives than positives during the first 100 days under new prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The opinion was given by no less than the fourth prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

"But on the positive side, he's meeting more people and most of all he doesn't sleep," said Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia for 22 years.

Among the negatives the 84-year-old cited were the proposal for a third bridge linking Malaysia to Singapore, the reversal of the PPSMI policy and Najib's liberalisation efforts.

"For 10 years (from 1987-1997), Malaysia recorded very strong growth despite the NEP (New Economic Policy). Direct FDI (foreign direct investment) flowed into the country although NEP was there.

"The current recession is caused by world conditions and FDI going to other countries like Vietnam and China because they are low cost centres. Ending NEP will not help," Mahathir told reporters during a press conference earlier.

During the question-and-answer session of the forum on "The position of monarchs and Malays in the Federal Constitution", Mahathir said the only the positive thing about the new administration was the introduction of Key Performance Index (KPI) for ministers and the recent ministers' retreat.