NAJIB’S FAILURE to chart new course for Umno may tip GE13 scales in PR’s FAVOR

Maria Begum

Scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak’s failure to chart a new course for his Umno party only bolsters the public’s perception that the nation needs a change in leadership and may the tip scales in favor of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Rakyat at the coming general election.

During his policy speech to delegates at the Umno 66th annual congress, Najib had gone on an all-out verbal assault against Anwar, praising himself as the better leader and manager of the economy while castigating his rival, whom he warned would sell Malaysia to ‘foreign institutions’.

“By giving so much emphasis to destroying Anwar, Najib is only admitting the Opposition’s strength. His failure to give new direction to Umno shows that he is in the dark. He doesn’t get it, it’s the same old talk, the same old rhetoric. He doesn’t understand why the rakyat (people) are angry with Umno-BN. And this is the saddest part for Umno. It has become so corrupt and so used to its power, it doesn’t realize that this is wrong or that it has to change. It thinks it is right and it is the rest of the country which has to change,” PAS MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad told Malaysia Chronicle.

“This is a critical moment for both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. Najib knows how to say the people are watching and they are not so easily fooled. We ask him to debate with Anwar, he doesn’t dare. He has nothing to offer except to fly the Malay supremacy flag whenever he and Umno are pressured. There are no concrete ideas or proposals for the economy, for education, to improve inter-racial and inter-faith relations except blame Anwar. Why should Malaysians give BN a chance then? If Umno cannot change, MCA, MIC and all the others will stay the same,” PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“What must have come as a surprise to Malaysians is the total lack of vision in Najib’s UMNO Presidential speech of what Malaysian nation he wants to build in the second half of the first century of the country’s nationhood – apart from the cliché of “high-income developed state. Najib’s omission of three paramount issues in his Umno presidential address confirms the vital necessity of political change in 13GE to take Malaysia to next step of national development,” DAP MP for Ipoh Timur Lim Kit Siang said in a statement.

“The three paramount national issues omitted by Najib are: (1) announce zero tolerance for corruption and full commitment to wage war against corruption and uphold integrity both in UMNO and the country; (2) establish Najib’s sincerity in his 1Malaysia concept by declaring that Ketuanan Rakyat Malaysia and not Ketuanan Melayu is the overarching UMNO objective; (3) demonstrate full democratic credentials and loyalty to his declared objective to make Malaysia the ‘world’s best democracy’ by committing UMNO to fully respect the right of voters to choose the government they want and full assurance to transfer power peacefully to Pakatan Raykat if this is the voters’ verdict in the 13GE.”

Cyber SNIGGERS

Indeed, Najib’s attempts to compare himself favorably with Anwar drew sniggers in cyberspace, especially with regards to the economy, which many blame him for stifling into a stupor while living and housing costs soar due to unchecked inflation.

Anwar, a former Deputy Prime Minister, was darling of the Malay community before his sacking and jailing in 1998 on trumped up charges by Mahathir Mohamad, who feared for his own political survival.

Najib, who was Anwar’s closest competitor for the DPM’s post, threw his support behind Mahathir. As a result, Najib nearly lost his Pekan seat in the 1999 general election. Critics have said the memory of that wafer-thin victory is still able to give Najib nightmares and this may be why that throughout his tenure as PM, his strategists have always focused on knocking down Anwar.