GE: Najib talking Coke

When it comes to the guessing game over the general election date, the nation's sixth prime minister is the worst compared to his predecessors.

COMMENT

Till to-date the date of the 13th general election is still a secret although going by the way Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has been going on the ground campaigning and bad-mouthing Pakatan Rakyat, rumours are rife that the polls will be held in early June.

It has always been the tradition of BN’s prime ministers to keep the general election date a secret but Najib is the worst of all because of these three reasons: too many false alarms; labelling the general election date and the guessing of the same as a national past-time; and drawing similarities between the secret of the general election date and the secret recipe of Coca-Cola.

First and foremost is the annoying false alarms. Many political pundits at first thought that Najib will hold the polls during PKR’s party polls way back in October 2010 to capitalise on PKR’s lack of preparation.

But that was not to be. Later dates suggested by the political pundits were April 2011 together with the 10th Sarawak state election, June 2011 and Nov 11, 2011 (due to Najib’s own declaration that the number 11 has been significant throughout his life and which has brought him much luck).

Those dates came and gone and so did the latest prediction of March 2011.

The current prediction is June 3 as the nomination date and June 9 as the polling date. This June date seems most likely due to the flurry of activity in Najib’s campaign these recent weeks and due to the massive amounts of cash doled out to the public and the uncountable number of promises made.

The second reason why Najib is the worst prime minister of all in regards to the general election date is because by labelling it a national past-time, he is making a mockery of democracy and insulting the rakyat’s intelligence.

He has also mocked the rakyat by saying that we can continue guessing as sooner or later we are bound to get it right.

When asked for his opinion on what he makes of Najib saying that the guessing of the polls date is a national past-time, DAP MP for Teluk Intan, M Manogaran has this to say, “We are not amused. By labelling the date a national past-time, the prime minister is displaying his superiority and arrogance towards the rakyat and at the same time taunting each and every Malaysian voter.”

This is a clear indication that all the transformation that Najib is always talking about is nothing but hot air. His action does not suit his words and he clearly does not walk the talk.

Durian and watermelon not the same

As for comparing the secret of the polls date to the recipe of Coca-Cola in that both cannot be revealed, Najib is certainly way out in his thinking because both are totally different matters entirely.

It is as if he is saying that the durian and the watermelon are the same because both are green and round.

Khalid Samad the Shah Alam MP from PAS opined that Najib “wants to catch Pakatan unaware and to maximise his advantage.”

Khalid further added that he is disappointed with Najib’s unprofessional manner which clearly shows that the prime minister is not confident of the rakyat’s support even with BN’s 100% control of the mainstream media and the nation’s finances but instead has to rely on the power of the secret date to triumph at the polls.

The keeping of the polls date as a tightly guarded secret also shows that Najib will do anything and everything in his power to cling on to Putrajaya at all cost.

He has been going around proclaiming that the people’s support is now back with BN but if that is the case why is there no transparency regarding the date of the 13th general election?

Why make the date the nation’s best-kept secret? This is definitely unacceptable as Najib has always proclaimed Malaysia as a model democracy.

Outperforming Santa Claus

With regard to the nation’s finances, Najib has outperformed Santa Claus. In his nationwide campaign from January this year till March 15, he has spent RM608.68 million of taxpayers’ money.

The following breakdown in figures is obtained from PAS MP Mohd Firdaus Jaafar of Jerai, Kedah who posed the question to the prime minister in Parliament on 27th March:

1. Perak – RM220.38 million

2. Johor – RM201.40 million

3. Federal Territory of KL – RM63.25 million

4. Terengganu – RM28.95 million

5. Sabah – RM22.77 million

6. Pahang – RM19.80 million

7. Selangor – RM17.30 million

8. Sarawak – RM10.13 million

9. Kelantan – RM6.40 million

10.Penang – RM5.58 milion

11.Kedah – RM4.06 million

12.Melaka – RM3.24 million

13.Negeri Sembilan – RM2.92 million

14.Perlis – RM2.50 million

Besides the above expenditure incurred, he has also given RM2.71 billion (more than Selangor’s reserves of RM1.9 billion) in so-called development funds to the Umno division chiefs in Selangor.

Thus, it is megabucks being spent to secure his seat in Putrajaya as well as putting up a false front as the caring prime minister of 1Malaysia.

Also do not forget the lack of recovery efforts pertaining to the massive debt of RM589 million owed by corporate figure Tajuddin Ramli to Danaharta and the RM250 million failed cattle project by Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family.

All in all, the federal government under the leadership of Najib has made the most blunders in the shortest duration ever.

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.