Najib pleads for end to talk of political funding

He tells Umno members there are bigger challenges to concern them.

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Razak has pleaded with Umno members to stop discussing the issue of political funding and to concentrate instead on facing the “bigger challenge” of developing the country and taking care of the people’s needs.

He made the appeal yesterday while launching the annual meeting of Umno’s Kepala Batas division. He has posted the notes for his speech on his blog, NajibRazak.com.

He said that as Umno President, he, together with the party’s treasurer, had the “exclusive right” to receive political funds.

“This subject is not discussed openly and has never been discussed, whether in closed party meetings or by the Umno Supreme Council,” he said.

He said that thoughout his service as deputy to former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he had never questioned the latter’s right to make decisions as he saw fit. He added that the same situation applied when Mahathir Mohamad was in power.

“What I have done is for the good the party, not for myself,” he said.

He repeated his call for Umno members to participate more actively in social media to counter what he said were “false perceptions” of current issues.