Najib Abdul Razak today reminded the people not to make a mistake in choosing their leaders as it can jeopardise peace in the country.

NONE The prime minister said the wrong leaders would be irrational and cause havoc in the country and deny the people the prosperity they now enjoyed.

"If we make a mistake in the selection of leaders, we may lose the prosperity we enjoy.

"It is not good enough that a person is nice because some people pretend to be nice when they are really not," he said at the presentation of donations to 57 mosques and 170 suraus in his Pekan parliamentary constituency in conjunction with the coming of the Ramadan fasting month.

Muslims in the country begin the Ramadan fast tomorrow.

Najib said only rational and outstanding leaders have the capability to administer the country, formulate policies, generate wealth and foster cordial relations with other countries.

The Bersih 3.0 rally in April was the doing of irrational leaders, he said, adding that the incident had caused much difficulty for the country and people due to the stubbornness of opposition leaders.

bersih in mecca "They not only caused havoc in the country but, worse still, demonstrated in the Holy Land, almost resulting in our Haj quota to be withdrawn by the Saudi Arabian government.

"Why did these leaders not use their common sense?

"Why did they not use the God-given gift of their mind. Why did they, solely for political reasons, do what they did in the Holy Land?" he asked.

Najib said the stupid act of the opposition almost cost Malaysians the opportunity to undertake the Haj for which they had been waiting, some for even up to 10 years.

"In the end, my government had to step in to save the day and, fortunately, we have good relations with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud," he said.

Najib urged the people to take advantage of the holy month of Ramadan to engage in more religious activities and charity work.

'Even Qatari PM wants FGV shares'

Meanwhile, in Jerantut, Najib emphasised that settlers had a right to enjoy their present benefits as they have worked hard for more than half a century on the land development programme in order to change their fate.

He noted that many on the outside viewed the settlers as the prime minister's 'golden children' following the various incentives and benefits accorded to them lately.

"If the settlers are getting more, don't be envious and begrudge them because they've fought for more than half a century.

NONE "The weak ones returned to their old villages," he said during his speech at the Felda Kasih programme in Padang Piol.    

The prime minister also said that the majority of the Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGV) shares are owned by Malaysian citizens.

He said most of the shares were given to Felda settlers and trust funds in the country.

"We gave the majority of the shares to the settlers and certain trust funds such as the Pilgrims Fund Board (Tabung Haji), Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Pemodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB)," he said after launching the programme.

AS such, Najib said the profits made by the FGV would definitely benefit the people of Malaysia.

He said the federal government had also distributed the FGV shares to the state government, with Pahang receiving funds amounting RM250 million and Sabah, with RM200 million.

"We are giving priority to the states that can provide land to the government (for Felda land development programme)," he said.

In his speech earlier, the prime minister said various allegations had been made against the listing of FGVH with certain quarters even accused Felda of being bankrupt.

"If Felda is bankrupt, how can it be listed in the Bursa Malaysia? Even the Qatari prime minister wants the FGV shares. When I asked him how much he wants, he said as mush as I can give," he said.

Najib said if outsiders and foreign companies were willing to pay large amount of money to get FGV shares, then Felda settlers should be grateful that they were given the shares by the ruling government.

Present at the launch were Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Ahmad Maslan and Felda chairman Isa Samad.

- Bernama