KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled a manifesto yesterday pledging bigger cash handouts, millions of new jobs and lower taxes and crime, as he seeks his first mandate in looming national polls.
Speaking to tens of thousands of people in a stadium just outside the capital, he talked up Malaysia’s economic prosperity over his four years in power, promising to do better should he convincingly win an election expected in late April.
He pledged to increase an annual handout he introduced two years ago for millions of poor households from 500 ringgit ($164) to 1,200 ringgit in stages while lowering private and corporate income tax. The prime minister also promised to build a million low-cost homes and attract 1.3 trillion ringgit in investment by 2020, creating 3.3 million jobs.
The manifesto outlines plans to expand the fight against crime and corruption by increasing the number of special corruption courts and the police force by 4,000 each year.
Najib, who dissolved parliament on Wednesday, has previously said he is “cautiously optimistic” of a “big” win as his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) faces what is seen as the toughest challenge to its 56 years in power.
The vote is tipped to be the closest ever, driven by concerns over corruption, the rising cost of living and high crime under an UMNO-dominated coalition which has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957.
Najib has worked hard to rebrand the 13-member Barisan Nasional, or National Front, since taking over the coalition in 2009 by launching a series of reforms to strengthen the economy and grant greater civil liberties.
He has reversed a recession despite global economic instability with Malaysia recording a 5.6 percent growth last year.
Najib is facing his first test at the ballot box and is under pressure to recover from the coalition’s shock 2008 election result, when it lost its traditional two-thirds parliamentary majority.
AFP
