Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today said the so-called 'bigger mess' created under his leadership as alleged by Dr Mahathir Mohamad is actually the former premier's doing.
"The ‘mess’ that Tun refers to is largely of his own making as a result of his attacks and his echoing of opposition lies and slander.
"These allegations have been amplified through the Internet," Najib lamented in a new set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posted on his blog last night.
Najib added that even Mahathir had taken to believing the online 'lies'.
"Just because a lie is spread a thousand times does not make it true.
"With such an onslaught online, its not surprising that Tun thinks there is a bigger ‘mess’ today," he said.
Najib was responding to Mahathir ( photo ) who has insisted that Najib step down as prime minister for making a 'bigger mess' of the country compared to his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
"What is wrong with asking the current prime minister to step down. He has obviously made a bigger mess of the country than the previous prime minister.
"Before this, there was no talk of a PM’s lavish spending, of purchases of expensive things, of a life of luxury. Some of these talk may not be true.
"But such talk was not heard during the tenure of the previous prime ministers. That there is such talk must be the result of a way of life that is different from what is expected of prime ministers," Mahathir had said in his own blog posting on May 29.
'Mahathir had it easy as PM'
However, Najib did not address Mahathir's claim about his alleged luxurious lifestyle.
Najib said the attacks he is facing now was unlike what Mahathir had to face when he was prime minister for 22 years.
"This was something that Tun did not have to face when he was prime minister.
"Any controversy that arose over his or his government’s actions would take days if not weeks to develop. Tun did not have to face endless allegations that were recycled over and over and shared at lightning speed.
"The word 'viral' was almost non-existent during his administration," said Najib.
Najib ( photo ) blamed the online media 'with hidden agendas that spin headlines and upload bold-faced lies that get shared and spread by the minute' for his predicament.
"Tun has clearly been taken in by the democratisation of information on social media, where all information no matter how untrue is treated as the truth," he said.
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