PAKATAN Harapan (PH) is shortchanging the people with its excuses over failing to keep its manifesto promises, former prime minister Najib Razak said.

Writing on his Facebook tonight, he said voters should not “simply accept whatever excuses that the PH government makes” and posted his comments with a news article quoting Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said the PH election manifesto was just a “guide”.

“It is the intention of the opposition and I to speak out for the rakyat and demand that PH honours its manifesto promises as a promise is a promise.

“It is not right and it is not justice that political parties can win power just by cheating the people. The rakyat should not be short-changed,” Najib, who is Pekan MP, said.

Dr Mahathir earlier said the PH manifesto was “not the Bible” and that the government needed to be practical.

The prime minister was responding to accusations by the opposition that PH had failed to keep its election promise to appoint a Dewan Rakyat Speaker from among MPs.

The government named former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Ariff Md Yusof as speaker and he took his oath of office today.

Other promises PH made in its manifesto but has not yet kept are to have 30% women in the cabinet and to defer loan repayments for National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) for graduates until they earned higher salaries. – July 16, 2018.