(June 1): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he remained focused on implementing the 11th Malaysia Plan and on leading the country amid criticism of his leadership and calls for his resignation.

"The 11MP is our main focus.

"We should not allow any other thing to draw our attention, deviating our attention from the main national agenda," he said in a speech to staff of the Prime Minister's Department at their monthly assembly in Putrajaya today.

He said the plan, which he recently tabled in Parliament, was the final stage to Malaysia achieving the status of a high-income nation.

Najib, who is also finance minister, outlined the government's five philosophies for the 11MP that will run from 2016-2020. These are pro-growth, pro-people, pro-business, environment friendly and emphasis on nation building.

He said the government must implement policies that would improve Malaysia's growth rate in order to distribute national wealth to the people.

One of the thrusts of the 11MP is to double the income of low-earning Malaysians who form the bottom 40% of society and to create a larger middle class.

However, Najib has been under attack not only from opposition politicians but from within Umno, with his chief critic being former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has asked him to resign over a host of issues, notably his handling of government-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd's RM42 billion debt. – The Malaysian Insider