KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 ― Datuk Seri Najib Razak today criticised Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) election manifesto before a crowd of international investors and envoys as he called for continued support for his administration.

Addressing the InvestKL 2018 ministerial event here, Najib said PH’s policy proposals under could jeopardise the economy, citing the criticism made by BMI Research in its report on the bloc's manifesto published last week.

"The diverse nature of the foreign direct investments into Malaysia clearly illustrates the attractiveness of our ecosystem and the ability of talented Malaysians to be at the forefront of industry 4.0 and digitalisation.

"It also shows that the country is on the right path — which stands in stark contrast to the manifesto of the other side, which a subsidiary of Fitch recently said would weaken the economy,” Najib said in his opening address.

Najib also took the opportunity to snipe at political rival and PH chief, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his continued attack on the government’s trade policies.

"I need hardly tell you that this is what FDIs is about. It does not mean selling our sovereignty, as a certain nonagenarian might tell you,” he said.

Dr Mahathir has repeatedly criticised Putrajaya’s close ties with Beijing, claiming the country’s sovereignty is under threat by Chinese financing of several large-scale infrastructure projects.

Najib has rubbished off the allegation.

Today, the Barisan Nasional chairman said the government increased its total investments to RM197 billion with up to RM54.7 billion coming from FDIs up to last year.

He said the numbers prove that his policies are working.

Of these, approved global establishment projects totalled RM14 billion with nine out of the 225 global establishment projects comprising principal hubs.

Najib said the government is setting a bigger target this year, with RM200 billion worth of approved investments in sight. Some RM80 billion or about 40 per cent of it are already in the pipeline, he added.

The numbers could augur well for the BN chairman, who is facing what is likely to be his toughest election to date.

Pundits believe Najib could dissolve Parliament next week and will call for elections either late April or early May.