Najib Razak has issued a statement that Malaysia enjoyed economic growth of a percentage point above the figure for 2016. This he claimed indicated that Malaysia is “on the right track”

If that were true why did he need to beg huge sums from the Bank Negara to pay 1MDB’s debts to IPIC? A flourishing economy should have produced increased revenues to enable the government to meet its debts from the alleged growth. Which of course should have produced growth in government revenues.

The fact of the matter is quite otherwise. Those benefiting from any economic expansion are a limited class of businessmen close to BN who enjoy advantages denied to the man in the street or in the kampong. These latter have seen rises in living costs of all kinds while salaries and incomes remain static and the poor have an ever greater struggle to survive.

Of course Najib and his equally crooked cronies do not care about that. Their personal take has mushroomed and that is all that concerns them. By their corruption in all areas of national life they have built up a tsunami of resentment which will sweep them away in GE14.