KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that he does not lose any sleep with his haters, though he admitted that some of the comments about him on Facebook angers him.
The prime minister told a dialogue with student leaders at the launch of Kembara Mahasiswa Nasional, which was posted on his blog today, however that outreach can be done for those who are influenced by misinformation.
“Haters are those where no matter what we do, they won’t like us.
“White people say ‘there’s nothing you can do’. So don’t. Don’t lose any sleep with this group,” Najib said at the dialogue called “60 minutes with the prime minister”, when asked about how he handles his haters.
The prime minister and Umno president also said he occasionally reads comments on Facebook about him.
“I do [read them], sometimes it’s hurtful. Makes me mad. When it’s hurtful, I don’t feel like reading anymore,” he said.
However, the prime minister said he does not block such users and he tries instead to “tell my side of the story on social media”.
The prime minister’s remarks come even as the government has come under attack over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy, where the state investment firm is under investigation in several countries.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil lawsuit last month to seize more than US$1 billion in assets it said were purchased with money stolen from 1MDB.
Najib also told the student dialogue that he usually sleeps at midnight, although he occasionally goes to bed at 1 or 2am during busy times like when he has to write a speech.
The son of former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak also revealed that his father had sent him to boarding school overseas so that he would not get special treatment.
“He wanted me to grow up in an environment where I would be judged based on my own skills. And I would be forced to compete with other kids without getting any special treatment,” said Najib.
“He said that if I were to go to school here in Malaysia, people would treat me differently from others. So I would grow up in a different environment,” he added.
The prime minister also said his father did not give him a large allowance.
“In school back then, it was 20 sen, then 30 sen a day. So I never went to school with money, with a pocket full of money. No such thing. I wasn’t like that.
“30 sen, 40 sen like that. He wanted to train me so that I would know the value of money,” said Najib.
