IPOH, March 15 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he only had a few hours of rest daily in view of the approaching 14th General Election.

"I sleep less, (but) work more, talk more and, hopefully, the votes will also be more. Work must be stepped up in the run-up to GE14, more so until the final moment,” he said.

Najib gave this reply to moderator Fizo Omar’s question at the ‘2018 Budget with the People: Civil Servants’ at Kolej Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu, Tanjung Rambutan, 12km from here.

Several questions were raised at the question-and-answer session through the Slido.com application that touched on various issues, among them government policies, the daily life of the prime minister and the challenges of a national leader.

During the session, Najib advised civil servants staying in government quarters to take the opportunity to buy houses offered by the government through the 1Malaysia Public Housing Programme (PPA1M).

"The quarters do not belong to us, those belong to the government. I want civil servants to acquire an asset before they retire,” he said.

Asked what crossed his mind when he came to Ipoh, the prime minister said Perak was well known for its food and ‘Nasi Vangey’ came to mind.

Najib also shared with the audience the memory of forming the BN state government led by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir after the Pakatan Rakyat state government was toppled following the crossover of four state assemblymen in 2009.

The session concluded with Najib indicating that the general election would be held soon. — Bernama