Umno not ready for Nov/Dec polls

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not heeding his former mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad's unsolicited advice.

COMMENT

A former prime minister who was also a former finance minister and never known for fiscal frugality has warned the west not to spend in denial.

Was Dr Mahathir Mohamad also targeting our current Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak?

In a world set upon by slower economic growth, where do we sell our exports? Can we maintain our price of oil and gas to ensure we have enough funds to finance the RM232.8 billion Budget 2012?

For now these factors seem not to worry Najib who is also the current finance minister.

Najib isn’t heeding the unsolicited talking-to and advice of Mahathir because he has that one tool which he thinks can earn the loyalty and allegiance of people who will ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) stays in power – the Budget.

Before the 2008 general election, former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented the budget in much the same way as Najib did – giving out goodies to everyone he could capture in the dragnet.

But it didn’t stop the BN losing a large number of seats and five states. But Najib knows best. So, he will and can call elections anytime.

March 2012 polls?

Best, call it before the end of the year. But then, the Umno people are just going through the drill attending courses here and there.

The Umno assembly is slotted sometime at the end of the year.

And Najib is leaving for haj pilgrimage for about two weeks. Perhaps there he will be seeking divine signs on the dates to hold elections.

God is on BN’s side just as God is a Republican in the US. It’s impossible not to win. I will say, the elections will be around March 2012.

People can easily be overwhelmed by the feel-good nature of an election budget.

But wait till it sinks in, then the questions will come. Has Najib addressed the issue of rising cost of living in his Budget 2012?

Sceptical public

People are sceptical about the official inflation rate said to be around 5 percent. What goods and services are contained in the basket of goods chosen by Bank Negara?

One year ago, a kilo of ikan kembong was 60 percent cheaper. So inflation can’t be 5 percent.

The most important goods and services which the public are looking at are the prices of foodstuffs – easily rising beyond 5 percent – education, housing, transport, cost of fuels etc.

Inflation just can’t be around 5 percent.

Will the disposable, all-round cash increases tackle the root cause of rising prices?

I also found it rather strange to hear a commentator (from Khazanah Nasional) saying that the budget exhibited “fiscal discipline” and was a “very efficient” budget that manages immediate needs in an uncertain environment.

Wow… is this the state of denial Mahathir spoke about?

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist.