Doing the right thing

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is prepared to put the nation's long-term interest before his own short term popularity, adding that leadership is about doing what is right, not what is easy.

"As politician, it would be easy to make cheap promises, offer people whatever they want, and deal with the consequences later," he said.

He said decisions on economic reform policies such as reducing subsidies and introducing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has not been taken lightly.

He added that he had thought long and hard about the risks, and the possible impact on the rakyat before embarking on the policies.

"We had to act, to guarantee our future, security, independence and growth which must be sustainable,” he said in his in opening address at the National Economic Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

He also stressed that his ultimate responsibility is to protect the people and not allow the nation's progress, the peoples well-being and the nation’s sovereignty come under threat.

"That is why this government has acted to keep our finances under control," he said.

Najib’s speech televised live by Astro AWANI kicked off a dialogue in which a wide section of the investment, business, academia, NGOs and commercial community provided input on the impact and direction imposed by current economic trends and challenges.

He added the latest subsidy reforms have been well-received by investors and ratings agencies and he is confident Malaysia is on the way to achieving a balanced budget by 2020.