Revive mega projects to contain economic fallout, Najib urges gov't

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has urged Putrajaya to revive mega infrastructure projects that have either been halted or postponed during the Pakatan Harapan era, in order to speed up economic recovery from Covid-19 pandemic impact.

He believes the implementation of these projects would partly resolve the surging unemployment caused by Covid-19, as these projects employ huge workforces.

"We (should) resume the infrastructure projects that will have a large multiplier effect and contribute to the economy to a large extent," he said.

Citing the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-speed Rail project, Najib said the infrastructure would bring development along the rail alignment and the land value would appreciate.

Similarly, he said, these projects would provide thousands of high-skill jobs in the country.

He also pointed out that the Mass Rapid Transit Line 3 (MRT3), which was being reviewed, should be revived while the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) is needed to develop the East Coast.

Najib said the people would not have rejected the Harapan government should it have continued and improved on the mega infrastructure projects started during the BN era.

"They made a huge mistake by rejecting all these projects implemented by BN, without even studying if they are good projects (back then)," he said in an interview live-streamed on Facebook last night in conjunction with Umno’s 74th anniversary.

"By right, a government should adopt a mindset to carry out and improve the projects. They might continue to be in power if they have such a mindset," he said.

"People looked at them as not achieving anything in their 21-month rule," Najib added.

Work out a plan to create jobs, increase incomes...

He also reiterated the need for the Perikatan Nasional government to work out a comprehensive national economic recovery plan that would create jobs, increase the people's income and assist businesses.

"What we need is not just stimulus packages, but an economic recovery plan. It must be effective and continue to be implemented until the economy is recovered," he said.

Besides this, Najib advised Putrajaya to spend as much as it could to speed up the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic impact.

"Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had admitted (in February) that our assets stood at RM2 billion. Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said we do not need a Samurai Bond as we have a strong financial position," he said.

"With our strength, we could spend as much as possible ( to boost the economy) as we don't have to worry about the inflation threat."

"So, what we can do is we spend (the money), so that our economy can recover," he said.

On top of that, Najib said the government should continue to channel out the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) to boost the local economy as the people's spending power has increased. - Mkini

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