AIYOH Najib, no need to fake it: A Chinese to be made Education minister ahead of GE13?

A new twist to Chinese education minister gimmick?

NOW, did I read it right? One million copies of Malay Mail (MM) to be distributed free nationwide? (see article below)

With the seniors leaving MM, I doubt it is still on. Perhaps it will be a million copies of New Straits Times, instead.

I wonder if the the trio were the "brains" behind the gimmick hatched and are now being rewarded for "brilliance" (below is what No News Is Bad News published on Oct 26, 2012).

The half-baked "advisers" of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must be thinking the NST would be a better vehicle to sell the gimmick to Malaysians in the next general election. Ohh! Those overpaid nut heads!

Chinese education minister gimmick hatched to win votes?

THE latest political gossip in town is that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has hatched a plan to win back the hearts and minds of the Malaysian Chinese electorate.

The talk goes like this: Najib has instructed his office to place an order for a million copies of a newspaper for Nov 28, 2012, to be distributed nationwide.

It seems, Najib would use the newspaper for a propaganda announcement that he would be appointing a Chinese to be education minister. Details are unclear whether he would do this in a snap Cabinet reshuffle or after the 13th General Election.

This means the next general election is unlikely to be held in November but, earliest, December.

The important question is: Will the Chinese trust Najib? Why is Najib still playing the race card?

Najib is fighting for his and Barisan Nasional (BN)-Umno’s survival as many Malaysians believe some 80% of the Chinese would be voting for the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in a bid to lay the foundation for a historic two-party system in Malaysia’s electoral history.

After 55 years, with the many mother tongue education issues unresolved, do you think the Chinese would believe appointing a Chinese education minister will resolve everything?

It is not about whether the education minister is a Chinese, Malay, Indian or any other race and creed.

Certainly education minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the deputy prime minister, does not fit the bill of a fair and just law maker for Malaysians. His declaration that he is Malay First, Malaysian Second is nothing short of a racist.

Malaysians just want lawmakers who are honest, just and fair. Only such lawmakers, who only think Malaysian, would be able come up with effective policies to forward Malaysia’s positive socio-economic progress.

That will also boost investor confidence, both local and foreign, thereby ensuring Malaysia’s prosperity.

MCA’s 55 years of subservience to Umno, selling out the rights of Chinese Malaysians, cannot be resolved by just appointing a puppet education minister.

It is too late for Najib and Umno to play such political gimmicks.

The only way for Najib and Umno to win back the confidence and support of Malaysians is to govern sincerely by clamping down on corruption and going for the big fish.

Najib and Umno also need to discard the politics of race and religion in line with his 1Malaysia battle cry, now the butt of jokes.

Can he really do all that?

So, let’s see if the gossip comes true and we will all get to see the reactions. Of course the BN-controlled mainstream newspapers will go to town with the story, praising Najib sky high as a man of reform, etc, etc, etc.

The result of the next general election is the real response of Malaysians.

Yes, let me share with you another gossip. It seems there’s an Umno leader who has left Umno to join Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR or Prople’s Justice Party).

In doing so, he closed down 18 Umno branches.

And to give another hint of what I heard, it’s connected to the appointment of the next Yang di-Pertua Negri (Governor) of Penang.

There is no official news yet of this from either side of the political divide. So, again, let’s wait and see if this gossip will also come true.

In Malaysia, gossips have the uncanny habit of becoming true.

Now a Malay Mail trio to boost NST news ops?

Tue 2012-Nov-13 @ MYT 09:37:18 am

More executive-level changes are said to be taking place at the New Straits Times, a little bird said, with a trio of former senior Malay Mail editorial executives moving into high positions. The names mentioned on the gossip circuit are: Yushaimi Yahaya, Najmuddin Najib, and Muzli Mohd Zin.

None of the appointments have yet to be confirmed; none of the trio were available for comment.

Yushaimi Yahaya, former Malay Mail editor and now group editorial adviser, is said to be taking up a new position in charge of the NST’s news operations, reporting to newly-appointed deputy group editor Abdul Rashid Yusof.

If the NST pries him away from the Mail, it may only come after the launch of a massive national promotional effort this month involving the distribution of a million free copies.

• Najmuddin Najib is said to be slated for a position as political editor, leaving the pro-Umno online newspaper Malaysian Digest. He has been editor-in-chief of the Digest only since the middle of the year, joining it from the Mail, where he had been news editor.

As political editor he will fill the gap left by Rashid’s promotion; it is said he will be assisted by Muzli Mohd Zin, currently managing editor (operations) of the Mail.

Najmuddin is the son of former Berita Harian crime editor Najib Abdul Rahman and grandson of inspector-general of police Abdul Rahman Hashim, who was assassinated in 1974. » The day a crime reporter found his father shot.

It was not possible to confirm any of the appointments. However, with a general election fast approaching, it is widely expected that the NST will firm up its news operations to do its part in shoring up the election hopes of Umno and the Barisan Nasional in what is expected to be a keen contest.

One million free copies of Malay Mail

Yushaimi has been part of a team that has been planning the grand giveaway with a million copies distributed free throughout the country. There has also been talk of the paper going free again, although this has been discounted. The publishers, Redberry Group, has also ordered new presses for regional printing in Penang, to put the paper on the breakfast table with up-to-date news.

At present the northern edition is sent by lorry, with the paper going to bed at 8pm.

The appointments at Balai Berita, if confirmed, suggest that group editor-in-chief Ahmad A Talib is trying to ensure a hold on editorial affairs, after Jalil had promoted Rashid on Nov 1 on the premature retirement of group editor Syed Nadzri Syed Harun.

The changes at Balai Berita have left Nuraina Samad sidelined as managing editor (features) with editorial supervision only of the features sections and the Sunday paper. After the Nov 1 promotions were announced, she had told friends that she could now go home early.

Business Times to be refloated?

Jalil also promoted Mustapha Kamil Mohd Janor from executive editor (business) to managing editor (business) and there has been speculation that Kamil would be put in charge of refloating Business Times: the paper had begun as the financial section of the Straits Times, then was hived off as a separate newspaper in 1976, before being folded back into the parent newspaper again in 2002.

However, it is likely to be a crowded market, now occupied by The Edge and Financial Daily, the Star’s business section, and Malaysian Reserve. Next year Malaysiakini launches an online business news site, KiniBiz, for which it has begun recruiting editorial staff. KiniBiz is a joint venture between Malaysiakini and former Star business editor P Gunasegaram. In addition, a new business weekly owned by former Star boss Clement Hii is to be launched soon. - uppercaise