Najib Defends Performance, Strongly Backs China Ties

Malaysia continues to be on a very firm economic footing despite the opposition accusing the government of selling off the country’s sovereignty in joint venture efforts with foreign countries, including China.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said it had always been the basis of his leadership to maintain good relations with other nations, especially neighboring countries, Bernama reported.

“Malaysia always believes in the spirit of diplomacy. Confrontational approach is not our way of resolving issues. Thus, it is important for us to maintain the good relations we have with others,” he said.

Citing the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed ??Rail Project as an example, he said there had been some arising issues before. However, he said everything was resolved through diplomacy.

“As for our good relations with China, the country has now become one of the top 10 major foreign investors in Malaysia. On the other hand, see this as an initiative towards strengthening diplomacy and economic ties, especially in the context of investment and exports, which will bring many benefits in the long term,” he said.

Najib also dismissed opposition’s frequent claims that Malaysia’s economy was unstable and about to go bankrupt, saying that such things would never happen as the country adopted prudent financial management practices.

“Who says we are going bankrupt? At the moment, the ringgit is one of the best-performing currencies in the world. The government’s financial position is also very good, enabling various development and transformation agendas to be planned and implemented,” he said.

Najib said the government, under his leadership, was always working on improving the country’s economic performance, thereby also improving the people’s livelihood.