Najib did the right thing

The sacking of 61 Umno members shows the party has principles.

COMMENT

When Umno president Najib Tun Razak sacked 61 members from the party, it was a tough call for him, as he was really caught between a rock and a hard place or rather between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Being put into such a difficult situation, the Umno president’s resilience and promise to dismiss those who went against the party is being seen as a part of his character and nature in not brooking any nonsense from those who do not toe the line.

The 61 disgruntled Umno members, who were not offered seats to contest in parliamentary and state assembly seats of the 13th general election, had been earlier warned of going against the grain, and are now swimming against the tide by standing as Independent candidates.

Najib’s decision was wise and in keeping with the future direction of Umno, and in wanting to see that the party does exactly what it says by delivering and standing by its principles and convictions although it would cost them dearly.

In the long run, Najib must have probably realised by now that this kind of members will never be able to be pleased or satisfied with anything Umno does for them. Sso it is really in the best interest of the party to sack them with immediate effect so as not to jeopardise BN’s general election plan.

While disunity within Pakatan Rakyat is obvious over certain issues where the three component parties – PKR, PAS and DAP – are at loggerheads with each other, it is important for Barisan Nasional to stand united in the face of betrayal by members from within the various political parties that make up BN.

This is the time for loyalty to BN to surface and to be displayed in full force. BN members must close ranks and stand united as the opposition Pakatan coalition has gained from strength to strength at the expense of BN.

There must no longer be any cracks or dissension within BN as this will cause the coalition to be unable to muster the support of the electorate to win the two-thirds majority which it is seeking to keep control of Putrajaya.

Nerve-wrecking battle

It has become a real nerve-wrecking battle right now: the battle for Putrajaya will go down to the wire as it has become not only acrimonious but also intense between both sides of the political

divide.

Who will win is anybody’s guess right now. But the most important thing for BN to do is to fight fair and clean as the opposition is expected to level all manner of accusations and acts of improper governance against the ruling coalition.

The sacking of the 61 members in the short term might cost Umno to have to pay a price, but in the long run it will benefit immensely and Umno will be seen as not only championing fair play and justice but also be attested to as being a truly democratic party.

Since he took over as the prime minister from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib has been making change after change to keep Malaysia abreast with the globalised environment and he also has won the hearts and minds of people by abolishing archaic and obsolete laws.

This show of guts by him has earned him a lot of praise and he has delivered as promised. Najib has also seen to it that freedom of expression and freedom of worship are in place for all Malaysians.

In other words, Najib has done the right thing by restoring full civil liberties to Malaysians of all walks of life. This is something Malaysians appreciate and this is why Najib has such a huge fan base and a large number of followers and admirers.

It is no hidden fact that he comes across as likeable and having excellent people skills and being always motivated by the desire to do the right thing, which is precisely what he did when he did not hesitate to sack the 61 rebellious Umno members.

It was really another display of “Janji Ditepati” or delivering on promises. Najib had promised Umno and BN that he will get a two-thirds majority win and he needs all the support to deliver on his promise and does not need members to break ranks at this critical juncture.

Formidable opposition

The 61 Umno members will hopefully repent and, if they do so, they will be readily accepted back into the fold by a Najib who is more known for being a forgiving person rather than to harbour grudges against anyone.

It is not late. There is still time for these 61 Umno members to rethink their actions and do what is necessary to come back into the Umno fold and be united and stand as one voice to further the 55- year governance of BN for many more years to come.

Only a united and harmonious Umno-BN would be able to ensure a massive win for BN in the GE13. For BN to be able to muster the strength to fight against the formidable opposition of Pakatan, it must make sure that there are no more splits and breakaways from the ranks of BN at this point of time.

A united Umno with Najib doing all the right things and making the right moves and decisions with full support from BN component parties will ensure that they are on track to win the GE13 by a huge margin.

The way forward as set by the example of Dr Mahathir Mohamad is being emulated by Najib and right-thinking Malaysians know who to cast their vote for right now: BN or Pakatan?

The answer to this question will be finally answered on May 5.

Christopher Fernandez has been teaching and writing throughout Asia since 1984.