Najib the last BN premier?

Will Malaysians wise up and put an end to the Rahman legacy thereby proving that the theory is true?

There are many who predict that Najib Tun Razak is the last prime minister from Barisan Nasional.

The basis of this prediction is, of course, the “RAHMAN Theory” which lists the names of all the Malaysian prime ministers from BN, starting with the late Tunku Abdul Rahman and ends with Najib, being the “N” and the end of the RAHMAN legacy.

Thus far, the “RAHMAN Theory” has been deadly accurate although there are some who put it down as mere coincidence.

Whatever it is, the basis of the “RAHMAN Theory” looks set to be the death knell for BN although the Umno leaders have pooh-poohed it.

Be that as it may, even without looking at the “RAHMAN Theory”, some neutral political observers think that the fall of BN is imminent as there are no more men or even women of calibre from BN who can lead the nation forward in these challenging times of global economic uncertainty.

When Najib took over the post from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Umno worked hard to promote Najib’s image to the hilt. This was because Umno thought that BN’s poor performance in the 2008 polls was due to Abdullah’s weakness.

All Umno’s programmes were then engineered towards promoting Najib as being a strong and capable prime minister. However, the promotion of Najib’s image has now become a double-edged sword.

As his image became highlighted more and more, his weaknesses were also highlighted in tandem. And one of his greatest weaknesses is his flip-flopping ways in decision-making, which is now well-known and has reached an unhealthy stage.

Financial scandals

This flip-flop manner of the prime minister can be very unsettling to foreign investors although he may be rated as the top gift-giver among the more gullible of the rakyat. Najib’s flip-flop manoeuvres pertaining to the MAS-AirAsia share-swap and in the matter of the Civil Servants New Remuneration Scheme are most telling.

This shows him as inconsistent and inefficient with a penchant for changing his mind. It also means that he can do the same with regard to formulating the laws and policies of the nation as well – a frightening thought indeed for the foreign investors to ponder upon.

Besides flip-flopping on decisions, there are also financial scandals which he has to account for, the worst being the one on the submarine. There are also countless issues pertaining to the awarding of projects to cronies and the Cowgate fiasco where he failed to make a firm decision.

Overall during his tenure, the misappropriation of funds seems to be the norm and there were also two mysterious deaths at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission premises (the first in July 2009 and the second in April last year).

The Najib administration has been riddled with allegations of gross mismanagement of funds, leakages and a tremendous waste of money and worst of all, all-round uncertainty caused by the general election date game.

It was Najib who first started the ball rolling with regard to this game by saying that the guessing of the polls date can be a “favourite national past-time”. That was very irresponsible of him and now he must be answerable to the mess this uncertainty has caused.

Businessmen and investors would no doubt prefer the polls to be held sooner rather than later in order for them to formulate the financial planning more effectively and efficiently, taking into account the global factors.

Furthermore, it must be noted that it was also during his tenure that goodies have been given out to win over the people’s hearts and minds including the book vouchers, the RM500 cash aid and most recently the tyre-aid to taxi drivers.

Out to dupe voters

While not denying that these financial assistance and the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) shops are a help to the low-income group, they do not solve the problem in the long run.

And all this talk of being a high-income nation is plain bunkum. For a storekeeper earning RM1,500 a month (putting in many hours in overtime), earning RM3,000 is only a fantasy and that is the reality for a low-wage earner.

Actually, Najib’s handouts is only a move of giving the people’s money back to the people. Nothing great at all. And the people should realise this. He is just out to dupe us to give him our votes and after that the situation is back to square one.

This is the common modus operandi of a confidence trickster. He gives you a small gift to gain your trust and confidence. After that, he says you are eligible for something bigger but first of all you have to invest RM3,000 in the scheme (read: scam).

By the way, one has to remember that Najib failed to answer this question posed to him earlier this year: In the event that Pakatan Rakyat wins the 13th general election, will you hand over power graciously in a smooth transition? Till today, he has yet to answer the question.

Therefore, will Malaysians wise up and put an end to the Rahman legacy thereby proving that the theory is true?

Selena Tay is a FMT columnist.