The Mistakes of Najib: The Omen and the Opportunity

In May 1998, an ominous book entitled 50 Dalil Mengapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM written by one Khalid Jafri made its rounds during the UMNO General Assembly. At that time, Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad were locked in a bitter battle that would permanently divide Malaysia along political lines. It was a calculated move to smear Anwar’s reputation and to introduce into the minds of the UMNO populace the reasons behind Anwar’s eventual sacking as the country's Deputy Prime Minister. Also, to provide arguments as to why Anwar should never be prime minister.

Fast forward to 2011 and a similar book has appeared but unlike the Anwar smear campaign book, this one is released whilst the target is already prime minister of Malaysia. The newly published book 'Kesilapan-kesilapan Najib' ( 'The mistakes of Najib' ) by a former UMNO division leader Shahbudin Husin lists out Prime Minister Najib Razak's numerous failures, and calls for his withdrawal from the party presidency and Prime Minister's post before the 13th general election.

few doubted that the ultimate inspiration for the 1998 book was Mahathir, who was then the prime minister albeit fast losing his popularity to Anwar. Now, in 2011, there is the expectation that the ultimate inspiration for the anti-Najib book may be the PM's ambitious deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin.

Tsunami of internal Umno shocks

Indeed Shahbudin's book could well be the start of a tsunami of internal attacks, carefully coordinated to coincide with the coming UMNO General Assembly slated for December 3rd for the purpose of diminishing Najib’s standing among the party grass-roots. No doubt, to an observer it clearly shows a fragmented UMNO, and this could in turn contribute greatly towards what many see as greater losses for the BN come GE 13.

The emergence of this book would clearly add ammunition for Najib’s enemies who seek to paint a picture of a leader who has not been able to hold the reins within his own party. Cracks within the Najib administration are showing following the tabling of the Auditor General's Report. From the massive mismanagement of public funded projects to the over-bloated 2012 Budget, things just aren’t going Najib’s way.

No wonder, it often seems like Malaysia is in turmoil. He and his Umno groups have begun the campaigning for GE-13 and already, a host of issues are being played up to pit the Malays against the non-Malays and to turn them away from the Pakatan Rakyat's reform agenda.

The sudden rush to divert the public’s attention by demonizing homosexuals, lesbians and transgenders have not return the desired result. The attention given to the Seksualiti Merdeka movement has instead raise the bigger question, is Malaysia truly a moderate Muslim country as claimed by Najib when visiting the Vatican several months back?

Certainly, his response shows he has already forgotten his promises of moderation to the Pope and to the UN General Assembly. It seems safe to say that most of the attacks are geared towards reinforcing the support of Malay votes for Umno and no one else. In turn, this has caused more and more Malaysians to question, where actually is the Najib administration taking Malaysia?

Is Najib and BN taking Malaysia anywhere?

The government is seen as moving in independent paths, depending on who is leading the band-wagon. The PPSMI row has stepped down a gear after Mahathir voiced the need for a referendum to decide on the policy's fate. Muhyiddin, the heir apparent to Najib, was probably arm-twisted to change his tune and allow key subjects Malay and Science to be taught in English for a while more.

Even so, Muhyiddin has been careful to ingratiate himself amongst the UMNO stalwarts by painting a picture of himself as being a “Malay first, and Malaysian second” hero. Muhyiddin has also been cultivating the image of working hard for the Malay grassroots, contrary to Najib, who is seen as a laze-about who has given up on the premiership and going to take it easy with lots of overseas trips in the meantime.

Najib's own scandals have also added to his unpopularity, which Muhyiddin Yassin has been quick to capitalize on. This similar strategy was used against Abdullah Badawi, which forced the 5th prime minister to retire and pass the reins to Najib Razak.

Reports about Abdullah, although not in book format, too had surfaced - telling of a prime minister sleeping on the job while his family’s business interests helped turn the mind-set of many supporters against him.

It sure looks like UMNO is at the end of its rope, especially with internal battles on the verge of tearing the party apart. But the Malaysian populace is not to blame for the woes of the nation, it is the UMNO elite who have themselves to blame for choosing not to listen to the people until it is all too late.

But as they say, for every door that closes, another opens. It sure looks like opportunity is now knocking at the Pakatan Rakyat's door and it should be seized!

Malaysia Chronicle