KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today critics of the administration should know better than to speak ill of Malaysia, pointing out that the country’s economy had performed well last year.

He accused his detractors of spewing wild allegations both against his government and state-owned investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and said they were merely doing so to further their personal agendas.

“Now I know that there are some who would like you to think that our economy is in trouble. Some who, against their own principles, even asked for foreign intervention.

“Some who ought to know better have been talking Malaysian down. Indeed, they do know better. Malaysia is sustainable at the core,” he said in his speech at an Invest Malaysia forum here.

He pointed out that the ringgit had been Asia’s “best performing currency this year to date” and that RM90 billion had been raised in the primary market consistent with previous years.

The prime minister also quoted foreign business wire Bloomberg as saying that “overseas inflows into Malaysia are the biggest in South-east Asia”, indicating that Malaysia was economically strong.

Even the claims concerning 1MDB were unwarranted, Najib said, as they were merely aimed at damaging the country’s reputation.

“But they (critics) have their own agenda and personal interests, which they have placed above the interests of the country. To them, damage to the country is just collateral. To them, the end always justifies the means.

“They have been airing all sorts of wild allegations, including about 1MDB, for instance,” he said.

Najib also repeated his pledge to take necessary action if evidence of wrongdoing is found in the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on 1MDB that was released last week.

He pointed out that after the report that identified weaknesses in the firm’s structure and management was tabled to Parliament, 1MDB’s board of directors had offered their resignations.

“And as I said last week, we must ensure that lessons are learned,” he said.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in a previous interview with The Weekend Australian newspaper said that chances of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak relinquishing his post were slim if there was no external pressure.

Dr Mahathir has been one of the most vocal critics of Najib in asking the latter to resign, primarily over allegations linked to 1MDB.

The PAC released its final report on the state investment arm last Thursday after almost a year of proceedings, and the questioning of dozens of government and 1MDB officials, including its CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

Among its findings, the PAC found that the 1MDB board of directors had failed to ensure the fund’s management complied with good accounting practises.