Spiralling out of control: Najib fails to lead and manage both Malaysia and Umno

How can someone who can’t grasp simple and straightforward concepts be in a position to manage and lead a country? Loot at Prime Minister Najib Razak's failed My First Home ownership scheme and the recent decision to scrap the controversial new civil servant remuneration scheme, apart from other flip-flops.

The house-ownership scheme for low-income earners launched a year ago failed because banks are unwilling to hand out 100 per cent financing applicants earning less than RM3,000 a month. How can Najib fail to grasp this fact that with a gross income of RM3,000 a month, a person simply cannot have any spare cash to pay the monthly installments for the house? Surely, Najib must know that a person has to pay for essentials such as food, transport and other expenses. After deducting EPF and Socso, there is nothing much to spare in the first place.

Even if Najib has no financial savvy, he has so many advisors, specialists, think tanks and the entire 1.4 million or so civil servants at his disposal to seek out the best ideas and formulas. The ironic thing is that the scheme was meant to entice voters especially from amongst the young people. Najib was banking on these schemes to kick in because he has to win the next GE-13 by all ways and means. Yet, it has turned into a disaster.

It is the same with the Public Service Remuneration Scheme (SBPA) announced in February, whereby the disparity between the salaries of the top civil servants and those in the lower grades - who form the majority - is much too wide. This plan was criticized from day one and has finally been scrapped by Najib because it is too hot a political potato to hold onto. The SBPA too was meant to gain votes in the coming GE-13.

'Popularity poll' that went unnoticed and incompetent advisers

Not surprising then that his latest popularity survey went almost unnoticed, with few people bothering to query why should his rating improve to 69%. Was it a skewed poll? Was it the way the questions were designed? Anyway, not only do Malaysians doubt the poll, the lack of response is an indication that they have already made up their minds and they are unlikely to be swayed by intentionally-skewed surveys specially commissioned to give Najib a boost.

Najib failed because he is simply too foolish. He continues to put the wrong people in key posts. They are supposed to help him in his transformation programs, but the only transformation that has been noticed by the people is his Ah Jib Gor being transformed into Ah Cheap Gor due to accusations he had used public funds to pay for his daughter's RM400,000 engagement party.

Ah Jib Gor is of course the persona his advisers created for him to appeal to the Chinese voters. And the silliness of the cartoonish nickname and how it upset the Chinese because they felt it disrespected their intellect and maturity is another sign of the bad taste and poor judgment of Najib's extremely well-paid team of core strategy advisers.

Even the 1MDB which recently bought the power assets of Ananda Krishnan for RM8.5 billion had a high-level panel of advisors and directors of questionable backgrounds. 1MDB, described by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim as a political slush fund, has now decided to sell these stale assets outside Malaysia in a bid to quell the public uproar over the excessively high cost of acquisition.

Additionally, Najib’s economic and political transformation programs have also failed. The long and often bragged-about list need not be mentioned as most of the people already know them by heart. It has done little to stir up investor confidence, while Malaysia' national continues to soar.

The next big pie in the face will be the mega Felda Global Ventures share listing. Every day, more Felda settlers are turning against the idea that may enrich them at the initial listing, then exposes them to the risk of losing their lands to marauding takeover market experts.

The PM's own lack of grasp, coupled with the wrong people advising him, willbe the downfall of his administration. His legacy will be pockmarked as one of blunders, inefficiency, dishonesty and hypocrisy.

Najib’s bad track record

Since Najib was called back from England, to be hastily brought into politics at the age of 23 in 1976, upon the passing of his father, the second Malaysian Prime Minister Abdul Razak Hussein, he has held numerous cabinet position starting with the Deputy Minister of Post and Telecom, Deputy Education Minister and even the Deputy Finance Minister.

Then he was elected to the post of Menteri Besar or chief minister of Pahang state at the young age of 28 in 1982. Despite his smooth sailing into politics and the vast exposure he was given by a grateful Umno, he has not contributed anything substantial to the party, their Malay nationalist stand, Malaysia or even his own political status. Such experience ought to have molded him into a true statesman, a political prodigy worthy of a matured democracy in modern and developing Malaysia who could sense, feel and meet the aspirations of the people. A leader that everyone could be proud of.

Skirt-chasing and meeting Rosmah Mansor

Instead, Najib has been mired with personal scandals as candidly recounted by his own late father to a foreign diplomat during a tea party. Razak told of his son's “skirt chasing” university days. Then there was the close proximity (or khalwat) allegation that he had been caught 'red-handed' doing what he should not be doing with a Malaysian songstress in Port Dickson.

Najib was also controversial for leaving his first wife for the wife of another man, Rosmah Mansor. There are some who blame the materialistic Rosmah for being a millstone around Najib's political neck. But just like his team of inept advisers, the spendthrift, aggressive and brash Rosmah is just part of Najib's problems. His biggest liability is himself - his lack of focus, intellect and ability to recognize and pick the good ones. This is why he is always in trouble and the excuse is always he has been "ill-advised". How may times can this happen, before the people realize that only a fool can be had so easily and so often!

Altantuya and Najib's lucrative days at the Defense ministry

Still hanging like a word of Damocles over his head is the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder, in which he and Rosmah have been accused of involvement. Certialy, 2 of their former bodyguards were found guilty of the gruesome murder. Najib and his close friend Razak Baginda were also accused of having taken an illegal RM570million kickback from French arms giant DCN for agreeing to buy 2 Scorpene submarines on behalf of the Malaysian government.

When Najib was the Defence Minister, he was involved the procurement of 12 Eurocopter EC725 Cougar helicopters for the sum of RM2.3 billion while Brazil paid only RM4.5 billion for 50 units of the same model. Najib also oversaw the purchase of 18 Russian Sukhoi fighter jets worth RM3.2 billion, where commission was paid to a Malaysia company, IMT Defence, at the rate of 12 per cent of the purchase price or RM380 million. Such a huge sum just for being the middleman.

During his lucrative tenure as Defence chief, Najib was also involved in the PSC-Naval Dockyard contract scandal to deliver patrol boats for the Malaysian Navy in2004. The contract price ballooned from the original RM5.35 billion to RM6.75 billion by January 2007. Worse still, only two defective boats were delivered instead of six. Adding salt to the wound, there were 298 recorded complaints on the pair of boats delivered, which were also found to have 100 and 383 uncompleted items aboard respectively.

His pledge to fight corruption has been proven to be completely false. Najib has made corruption worse in the 3 years since he took over as prime minister from Abdullah Badawi in 2009.

Corruption and racism worsens, bailouts and red ink increases

Under his premiership, Proton plunged deeper into the red with a net loss of RM88.2mil for its third quarter compared to RM68.1mil recorded in the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue declined to RM1.43bil from RM1.83bil previously. Then MAS is also losing money despite a controversial share swap with AirAsia. The red ink has not stopped flowing, and losses of RM2.5 billion were announced recently.

Now, even as Najib touts 1Malaysia, the fact is that while he may look cool and multiracial-looking, he is actually very deceptive. He was the Umno Youth Chief who once threatened to bathe a keris in Chinese blood at an infamous rally held in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur in 1987 shortly before ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad launched a crackdown on activists and opposition leaders in an exercise codenamed Operation Lalang.

And despite his call for moderation, Najib has thrown his support behind extremist and racist groups like Perkasa and Jati. Even Rosmah attends Perkasa functions to lend it an air of acceptability and endorsement by the top leadership.

But what has Najib achieved thus far?

At home Najib has achieved nothing to be proud of and whatever has been portrayed as being his successes and achievements are trivial. He has even failed to improve his image after spending millions, with a UK media consultant caught red-handed for plugging news that intentionally portray him in a positive light to unsuspecting international audiences..

Najib has also failed to improve Umno. He has failed to provide the party the leadership needed to make it turn over into a new leaf. Umno is still pursuing its old habits of cheating, vote-buying, spreading false propaganda, and giving handouts to win at elections. Umno is still without substance and integrity, failing to recruit any substantial new talent into the party. By comparison, PKR and PAS are making huge stride with Malay professionals opting to join them rather than than Umno. It is worth nothing that it is during Najib's tenure that the acronym ABU has been coined - Anything But Umno.

At the international level, Najib has been famous only for going on luxury travels abroad meeting VVIPs and so on - obviously all first class and paid in full by Malaysian taxpayers. The Global Movement of Moderates, which Najib launched in Kuala Lumpur on 16th January this year as his signature 'legacy to the world' is a huge flop. GMM failed to raise steam because Najib was not credible. While he spoke about noble ideals and equality of humanity abroad, at home he screamed racist rhetoric. warning that he would cling to power even if it meant "crushed bodies", "lost livces" and "ethnic cleansing".

The biggest slap in the face for Najib's international ambitions came last month when the influential Washington Post ran a stinging editorial calling Najib "that other champion of doubletalk" when his administration illegally deported Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari home to face possible beheading for alleged apostasy charges.

Perhaps, most telling of Najib's ineptness is his inability to control his wife. How could such a weak man manage a country with a RM460 billion national debt, and is inundated with corruption at every level of government. Indeed, Najib is helplessly incompetent; he should have never been appointed the prime minister. And if Umno says, there was choice - what now then?

Malaysia Chronicle