Wrong To State PM Fails To Implement Promise, Says Wisma Putra

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2 (Bernama) -- Wisma Putra (Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) has explained that it is wrong to state that Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has failed to implement his promised economic and political reforms. In a letter titled “Malaysia’s Reforms are Real” published in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Information & Public Diplomacy Department undersecretary Ahmad Rozian Abdul Ghani said, in less than three years as prime minister, Najib had made it easier for foreign companies to invest in Malaysia, repealed repressive laws, made education free for all, cut crime, slashed unemployment and lifted average incomes to record levels. "As for corruption, while the prime minister is taking real action to tackle the issue — such as passing a new Whistleblower Act, setting up special corruption courts and launching a corporate integrity pledge for businesses, (but) opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has failed to answer serious questions about voter fraud in his own party's internal elections," he wrote in a letter that was published in the WSJ "Letter to The Editor" column. Ahmad Rozian was referring to the former US Ambassador to Malaysia, John Malott's criticisms of the Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration in an article entitled “Testing Malaysia’s Promises” that was published in the WSJ on Jan 12. He further explained that the Prime Minister and the government were working hard to deliver prosperity, security and democracy for all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or political persuasion. "It is time for Mr (John) Malott, whose views often appear to be influenced by his close personal friendship with the Anwar family, to acknowledge this and give credit where it is due," he said. Ahmad Rozian said to say that none of the proposals made by a bipartisan committee on electoral reform had been carried out suggested that the government was some how dragging its feet, when the reality was quite different. "Three weeks prior to Mr Malott's article being published, every one of the committee's recommendations was backed by the Malaysian Parliament, and the Electoral Commission has committed itself to implementing these measures in full ahead of the next general election. "This is hardly ground for charges of obstruction or delay," he said. -- BERNAMA