'I am open to criticism' - Najib
On the other hand, Najib said BR1M was a form of social security network for the households earning less that RM4,000 a month. - File Photo
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he is open to any criticism from any quarter on his leadership.
However, he said the criticisms must be made in a prudent and responsible manner.
He said as Prime Minister and Umno president, he placed the interest of the people and party (uppermost) when making any decision.
"I scrutinise, I evaluate the aptness of every criticism. Regardless, of an individual's opinion, eventually, I am responsible to the people and party.
"This I want to stress," he said in an interview in a Special Edition of TV3's Soal Jawab (Question and Answer) programme Thursday night.
Najib was asked by host Hamdan Ahmir on the criticisms by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on his leadership lately.
Najib said he still respected Dr Mahathir the way he respected the people of Malaysia.
READ FULL TRANSCRIPT OF NAJIB'S SPECIAL INTERVIEW HERE:
The Prime Minister also denied the giving of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) to households earning less that RM4,000 a month was a handout.
On the other hand, Najib said it was a form of social security network for the group.
He said the giving of BR1M as suggested by the Fiscal Policy Committee could help the low income earners following the reduction and abolition of subsidies.
He said many countries also had social security network systems in a variety of ways to look after the lot of their people.
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