Najib reiterates rejecting extremists but again fears to say who

A grand but hollow ceremony without solid reforms

Malaysia Chronicle

Prime Minister Najib Razak continued to waffle on his 'reject-extremism' call made on the eve of Malaysia Day, confusing market practitioners with his mixed signals as they await his New Economic Model due to be fleshed out next month.

"We don't expect an outstanding NEM but we are worried it might be even weaker than we anticipate. If by rejecting extremism, he means Perkasa then we are more optimistic. But if he's not referring to Perkasa and is referring to those who challenge the special position of the Malays, then we can expect a pretty dismal NEM," an economist at foreign bank told Malaysia Chronicle.

Afraid to commit


On Friday, Najib reiterated his government would distance itself from groups that were "extremist".

Mahathir - few dare to mess around with him

“Like with our affirmative action. We accept the goal of it, but why don't we redefine affirmative action? We have to be seen to be more fair and market-friendly in our objective in the current economic environment. They have made the decision to accept a myopic view and to be selfish in their rights," Najib said in a speech to his 1Malaysia Foundation.

But he still refused to identify who “they” were.

Pundits have speculated that the PM was referring to Perkasa, which is an ultra-Malay rights group backed by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, and has created enormous social tensions with its fiery racist rhetoric.

Yet others say Najib was referring to Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who recently took Perkasa to task for misrepresenting the meaning of Article 153 of the federal constitution which relates to the special position of the Bumiputera.

“It may seem incredible but the PM is scared. He dares not indicate who he is referring to. This shows his lack of political will and moral courage to carry out his plans. By being vague, he may be hoping to give the impression that he is referring to Perkasa whom investors and the non-Malays dislike. But at the same, it can be twisted into meaning a scolding for Izzah,” .PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Appeasing Mahathir

The NEM is one of the key plans that the Najib administration hopes to implement. It has been tagged as the country’s new defining economic blueprint, replacing the 40-year old New Economic Policy launched by his father Abdul Razak in 1971.

Nurul - fast-rising star

But it has met with stiff resistance by the conservatives in Umno, who have rallied around Mahathir and Perkasa. One of the main goals in the NEM is the lifting of protectionist barriers on several major sectors of the economy. Najib has already reduced the 30 percent Bumiputra equity ownership on new share listings to 12.5 percent.

The NEM also seeks to distribute the wealth to the bottom 40 percent of income earners, which will actually benefit the Malay and Bumiputera communities as they form the bulk of the low income population.However, Perkasa and Mahathir have chosen to play up the NEP as symbolizing the sovereignity of Malay political dominance.

Because of Mahathir’s still significant political clout, there are expectations among investors that Najib will eventually detail a watered-down and disappointing NEM to appease the older man.