Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak speaks at a special forum called ‘Hard Truth: Cash is King’, at the Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur August 7, 2019. — Picture by Hari Anggara
KUALA LUMPUR, August 7 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today sought to dispel negative connotations associated with his “cash is king” philosophy, criticising his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for misinterpreting the line often associated with him.
Speaking at a special forum called “Hard Truth: Cash is King”, here at the Umno headquarters, the former prime minister said that he did not mean the line by its literal meaning, but rather one with a deeper context and with the public’s well-being in mind.
“I did not mean it in a literal way when I said cash is king.
“Actually what I meant was the people are the king and the cash, we use to help the people. Tun Mahathir perceived a connotation that is inaccurate.
“What I meant was as a government, our responsibility is to help those who need help.
“The poor, those who have kids and have no money to buy clothes, shoes, as some say, cannot put enough food on the table, those with family members who are old,” he said.
Najib was responding to a question by the forum moderator, on what he truly meant with the line, which Dr Mahathir often uses in his criticism of Najib and his administration’s policies.
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