COMMENT | It is ironic that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak find it necessary to talk about Penang and criticisms about his leadership while in India.

If he is not happy that criticisms of his kleptoratic leadership and thinks it will scare away investors, imagine how investors will feel if they see everyone is silent about this abuse.

Won’t they perceive that the whole country is complicit in the corruption and feel that there is no hope in Malaysia?

The prime minister would prefer this country to be like a kingdom where the emperor has no clothes. Everyone is supposed to pretend that the emperor is adorned in fabulous clothes when in actuality the kingdom has been conned by a bunch of thieving tailors.

The prime minister boasts about the billions in investments that he has supposedly brought in. Seasoned diplomats know that memoranda of understanding (MOUs) signed during state visits are just intentions and are not legally binding. Individual parties involved, mostly corporation still have to negotiate each deal.

Sometimes not all the announced deals lead to actual investments. Even the recently-signed deal between Saudi Aramco and Petronas is still being negotiated. So please don’t count the eggs before they hatch...