 KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — For Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, seeing through painful economic reforms, at a time when average Malaysians are feeling the pinch from soaring inflation, has been tough and lonely. “I did not take the decision to reduce subsidies — or to introduce the GST — lightly. I thought long and hard about the risks, and the possible impact on the rakyat,” Najib said of the government’s unpopular recent moves to bolster public finances. “You know as the saying goes: it gets lonely at the top. “But I judged that we had to act: to guarantee our future, security, independence and growth which must be sustainable,” the prime minister said in a keynote address at the National Economic Summit and Dialogue. Najib’s administration has been rolling back subsidies in efforts to improve government finances, starting with a 10 per cent increase in petrol pump prices. A 15 per cent increase in electricity tariffs followed this year. Najib also cut subsidies on sugar and set a timetable for a consumption tax starting in April next year. The policies sparked public anger about the rapidly rising costs of living. Najib argued today that as the country's leader, he needed to do what was right instead of being a populist. “Leadership is about doing what is right, not what is easy. If we ducked the decisions now, our development would suffer. “I am prepared to put the nation’s long-term interests before my own short-term popularity. And I am confident that the reforms will work,” he said. Najib added that his government had the track record to prove it is capable of dealing with the economy, pointing to Malaysia's steady growth amid the global financial crisis. He said since he took office in 2009, Malaysia's growth has steadied at more than 5 per cent per year while the deficit has dropped to 3.9 per cent of GDP. -MMail-
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