Infighting in Umno-BN at its worst: Inept Najib relies on image to cover the cracks

Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as the one who brought greatness back to Russia after the fall of the USSR under Gorbachev. He posed in many officially-issued photos, showing to full advantage his physical, macho image, riding a horse and even swimming in the cold Moscow River. But recently he was booed by a large section of a 20,000-plus crowd when he went into the ring to congratulate the winner of a bloody martial arts fight telecast live on nationwide TV. Not surprisingly, there was a news blackout to control damage and shield him from the negative publicity.

Putin’s ruling United Russia party is heading into parliamentary elections in just two weeks, and though he is certain to win, the fact remains that his popularity has been sagging. That's why whatever means and methods his public relations advisers have used to improve his image have not really worked as desired.

Same goes for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He too has been trying to improve his image locally and globally, engaging expensive team after team of professional image consultants at huge costs to taxpayers. But from APCO to FBC Media or even to Tony Blair's ex-image team, none have been able to do the impossible, which is to turn a frog into a Prince Charming. Instead, their efforts have been an outright disaster - making Najib and Malaysia a laughing stock amongst the diplomatic corp, who are amazed at his bungling and outsize vanity.

While Putin and US President Barack Obama do succeed to a certain degree in portraying themselves as dynamic men who can be counted on to do good things, things that are necessary for the betterment of their countrymen, Najib is still seen as a scandal-and-corruption-scarred flip-flopping and indecisive sort of leader ready to resort to force to cling to power.

Sometimes, no amount of paint can cover a defective face. Najib should admit that a large part of his inability to win at the perception game is due to the fact that he has been weak, indecisive and has U-turned on too many critical issues. These are the sad facts and why should Malaysians allow him to continue to pour their hard-earned money into the drain to cover up what are truly his own personal and professional failings!

Too busy

However, it doesn't look like Najib is going to stop. He has been preoccupied with improving his image to the extent of neglecting the state of the country’s economy and the welfare of the rakyat or populace. Even top leaders in his Umno party think he has neglected them, so busy has he been on one overseas trip after another that few Malaysians ever get to see him for longer than a week at a stretch.

By now, Malaysians know how mad former premier Mahathir Mohamad is at Najib. The former Umno president is still very powerful and seems to have lost all hope in Najib, recently lambasting him for being too busy to "fix" all that was wrong in UMNO. And we all know how much there is wrong in UMNO! Mahathir even went on to say that as a result of neglect UMNO has become so weak and unable to improve its image to the extent that it now has to befriend racist groups like PERKASA to become strong once again.

Twisted logic? But that is Mahathir for you. He is the ultimate spin-meister. He says whatever he wants to say, makes sure that everyone knows what he said and that he was the one who said it. And not only that, he says only what benefits his plans!

Anyhow, the long and short of what happened after Mahathir made his Najib "too busy" comments during an interview with the Utusan newspaper was apparent for all to see. It sent the Najib camp into a tizzy, with Najib's cousin and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein trying to defend him, while Najib's arch rival in UMNO - his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin - sagely agreed with Mahathir. Yes, there were a lot of rotten going-ons in UMNO but it could be fixed (by him of course, so the implication goes!).

The chaos and disarray is much worse in BN

Indeed as the BN press, especially the Star, likes to pin-point and accuse the Pakatan Rakyat of never being able to agree and of forever fighting with each other, it is actually in the BN where the greatest chaos and internal scuffling is going on. It is especially intense now at UMNO, with rival warlords at each others' throats in Terengganu, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Perak and Selangor over seats, positions and how to divide the spoils of the game.

The next most troubled party is of course the MCA, now under the scandal-tainted Chua Soi Lek. That it has already undergone two hugely divisive EGMs has not helped to patch the divide between factions led by old leaders like Ong Ka Ting and Ong Tee Keat. Instead all are waiting for the right signal to overthrow Soi Lek, whom they all know must go because his sex DVD scandal is just too huge a liability to the party's future.

It is the same at Gerakan, where all are waiting to throw out limp president Koh Tsu Koon and his inner circle of cronies. So little confidence does Tsu Koon inspire that even UMNO wants a say in what happens to Gerakan.

But it looks like Najib, Soi Lek, Tsu Koon and their closest cohort would rather die than admit this. Soi Lek believes he can rule MCA forever because he has control over a most powerful media to spin false news on his behalf - which is the Star and its various offspring including a popular Chinese-language radio station. But like Najib and UMNO, Soi Lek and MCA couldn't be more wrong.

Why? Because beneath all the form, there must be some substance. The people are simply not stupid. They can be fooled some of the time but not all of the time!

The real thing!

Look at Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, he may seem a populist figure who knows when and how to thump his chest to win brownie points with a nationalistic electorate. But make no mistake, he's also a very savvy economic manager and, to many, an enlightened reformist who would like Turkey to play a much bigger economic and political role on the global stage, starting with Europe.

Based on a Time magazine report, during Erdogan's tenure, per capita income in Turkey has tripled, exports have quadrupled, and inflation has dropped from as high as 37% to between 5% and 8%. Turkey has the 17th largest economy in the world, and Goldman Sachs predicts it will break into the top 10 by 2050, assuming things stay on track.

So yes, Erdogan has succeeded. He is welcomed by the revolutionists in the Arab Spring governments of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. So respected is he that his words also carry weight with the Israeli prime minister Netanyahu.

Can Najib and Soi Lek dare to hope to be compared against such a benchmark? It would be comparing Beauty with the Beast, would it not? Neither of the Malaysian men have any concrete results to show. Both are dogged by huge personal scandal. Neither are imaginative, creative or even possess the most fundamental of qualities necessary to inspire trust and respect. And these are honesty, keeping one's word, reliability and trustworthiness.

How many Malaysians can really say that they trust, respect or believe in anything that Najib or Soi Lek have to offer?

Everyday Malaysians come last for the Najibs

Najib - with most to lose - is more concerned about his looks and how he will appear in the history books. His UMNO-BN colleagues and their cronies are not interested in improving the economy, but seem to be more interested in siphoning the nation’s funds at the expense of the people.

Najib has never showed his real concern for the rakyat. It is too much hard work for a softie like him. He is too used to the good life and prefers the jet-setting lavish lifestyle that he is more than wealthy enough to support. And guess whom he should thank for all his riches?

For Najib to roll up his sleeves and tackle the myriad of problems in this country is a big No-No, not just to him but also to his wife Rosmah Mansor. She is probably the only person who can make him work, but it looks like she prefers the expensive fast lane even more than her husband.

Really, by now, it should be clear that Malaysia's first couple really have very little interest in finding out what would make Ali, Ah Chong and Muthu and their families feel a bit more secure and a little more prosperous. Certainly, it looks like Najib and Rosmah, UMNO and BN are much more interested to find out how they can make themselves more secure and prosperous instead!

Malaysia Chronicle