Trust Najib Or You'll Be The Next Victim..!

Outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today told the nation to have faith in his deputy Najib Abdul Razak, who has come under renewed scrutiny over an alleged sex scandal involving a controversially murdered Mongolian beauty.

"I believe in him, that he would be a good person," Abdullah told reporters after delivering a keynote address at the US-Islamic World Regional Forum this morning.

"I want Najib to succeed me, I want all party members to give their support to him and I believe he can be a good leader," he said.

Due to step down next March, Abdullah had also decided against defending his presidency of Umno, the largest political party, clearing the way for Najib, who is both deputy premier and deputy Umno president, to move up the ladder.

The 68-year old Abdullah was referring to an article that appeared on the Malaysia Today website over the weekend, which has once again swivelled the spotlight on Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor and Altantuya Shariibuu, a 28-year old Mongolian woman who was murdered here in 2006.

The article entiled ‘Abuse of power by the deputy prime minister’ had exposed a series of SMS messages allegedly exchanged between Najib and a lawyer. The lawyer had previously represented Abdul Razak Baginda (left in picture below), a close friend of the deputy premier, who has since been charged for abetting two police officers in Altantuya’s killing.

One of the text messages allegedly sent by Najib said that Razak “will face a tentative charge but all is not lost,” setting off a chain of questions among Malaysians and across cyberspace, where the article has been among the hottest news.

The most asked question has been ‘how could Najib have known when at that point in time Razak had not even been charged?’.

"I cannot believe Najib will want to abuse power," said Abdullah.

Meanwhile, Najib’s supporters have cried foul, accusing his political rivals of trying to sabotage his campaign.

The 55-year old himself has repeatedly denied allegations that he had been involved with Altantuya. His wife too has refuted allegations implying her involvement in the Mongolian woman’s murder case.

So far, Najib has won 28 nominations for the presidency from Umno divisions across the country. He needs at least 58 to stand for election at the party’s annual general assembly next March. At the moment, no meaningful contender has emerged to challenge him for the Umno No 1 post.

Still A Rosy Economy

Najib, who took on the finance portfolio last month, is also facing his first test as finance minister today, when the 2009 Budget is debated at Parliament.

Arch rival Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim fired the first salvo this morning, calling on Najib to table a new spending plan. Citing the rapid deterioration in the global economy, he asked Najib to replace the “outdated budget” proposed by Abdullah on Aug 29.

The debate, which began this morning, is still proceeding at press time.

Meanwhile, Abdullah said Malaysia could withstand the impact of the financial turmoil sweeping across the US, Europe and already reaching parts of Asia, including Singapore - which has already declared a state of recession.

Abdullah also pledged to keep the ringgit on its current managed float regime, adding that the country could ward off economic contagion with its political stability and strong economic fundamentals.

"We have very strong reserves, our surplus is still strong, our domestic savings are also very high and our currency is also stable and not subject to fluctuation," he said.. "There is also no intention to re-introduce capping on our currency.

"We have the strength and the resilience of Malaysians as we have faced it before and our banking system is still strong, there's stability in the country and predictability in terms what's going to develop politically," he said.

The premier is the latest to join in the group of government leaders - including Najib, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakob and International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin - who have offered a slew of reassurances to investors.

However, financial experts and civil groups, including Transparency International Malaysia, have lambasted the government for painting a rosy picture and giving insufficient warning to the public of what some believe could be the worst-ever economic shake-up, perhaps even exceeding the misery of the Great Depression of the 1930s.