Sacking advisers not enough: Najib to blame for putting self-interests, vanity above Umno

Najib Razak was born with a silver spoon, his political career charted by UMNO. The post of UMNO president and prime minister of Malaysia were handed to him on a silver platter too. No surprises then that Najib has no idea what the ordinary rakyat (people) want or understand their feelings, aspirations and hardship. Najib lives in his own world - cloistered, safeguarded, luxurious and rather unreal.

Since his political career was charted by UMNO, Najib has never had to learn the tricks of the trade. He is actually very naïve in politics, unable to form opinions or make decisions independently and by himself. In his personal life, he needs his wife Rosmah Mansor to make all the decisions for him. Whilst in his political life, he depends on advisers. So far both - Rosmah as well as the advisers - have proven to be liabilities to his political career.

There is a story that has long circulated in the Umno rumor mills that former premier Mahathir Mohamad had demanded that Najib divorce Rosmah or he wouldn't support Najib's bid to become prime minister. However, it seems that Najib was even more afraid of Rosmah than of Mahathir!

Be that as it may, when it comes to advisers - there is less excuse for Najib to be so weak and dilly dally over a decision that he should have made long ago and save himself the kind of flak he has been receiving these days. Najib should have sacked his strategists long ago instead of only doing so after Mahathir and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin publicly queried him on this - who are these people who are giving you such bad political advice?

Where should the buck stop?

Of course, at the end of the day, it is Najib who must should the full responsibility for Umno-BN's poor performance in the general election and the sharp plunge in Umno's image. He should not blame anyone but himself for not having the basic ability and common sense to read and understand the character of the Malaysian people.

Any sensible leader should know better than to listen to the views of apple polishers and while it is understandable that Rosmah would be susceptible to flattery, for Najib to display such weakness and vanity only confirms the public view that he is not fit to be PM.

The best example is in the launching of his trumpeted PR1MA housing scheme for those earning RM3,000 and below a month. Najib was not able to grasp the simple math nor the reality that with all the expenses, loans and bills to be paid, this scheme would simply not work. Yet Najib was so 'blur', he fully trusted his advisers - who really should be shot for such incompetence - and ended being seen as the one who was the most foolish! And which he was!

Another crack-brained scheme was the 'I love PM' campaign that was such grovelling flattery, reminiscent of North Korea's propaganda for its 'Dear Leader', that a former UMNO minister could not stand it anymore and blurted out that he found it nauseating!

Really, Najib should have known better. Why didn't he?

A 'neutralized' threat

Perhaps the most awful thing is, Najib would be sure to lose both the Umno presidency and the PM's post if he was not still being propped up by those who do not bother to hide their scorn for him in private -i.e. Dr M and Daim - who for now see him as being a 'neutralized' threat to their vested interests.

Najib is not Mahathir who managed to make full use of the government apparatus and media to impress many ordinary Malaysians. When Mahathir resigned, the feeling in UMNO was that no one could fill his shoes. Mahathir's bullying ways and his brook-no-nonsense style were also his strengths. Najib too tried to stamp himself into the consciousness of Malaysians but having none of Mahathir's presence, Najib had to go for an expensive public relations campaign.

Notice the banners in the 13th general election where BN candidates were pictured next to him with word 'bersama Najib' or 'together with Najib'? The first thought of voters would be that 'wow, Umno must be really rotten for Najib to distance himself in such an open way'. Then the next thought would surely be, why is Najib still with Umno then?

Also, didn't Najib have scandals of his own, what about the commission for Scorpene submarines, the Old Airport land in Sg Besi, Jho Low, Johan Holdings and the AES just to name a few. Conclusion: hypocrite! Najib is just as bad as Umno, in fact, he is part and parcel of the party's vices, corruption, et al.

No wonder, Umno's image is so weak while his own popularity is also sinking.

Putting the people low on list of priorities

Really, Najib should have immediately axed such obvious cases of poor strategy from his advisers. Najib is 59 years old and that means he should know well enough that in politics, just as in life, no one can go it alone. Teamwork is always required. Even outstanding leaders like Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela or Hitler, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussien and other dictators could not win it alone; they all have people who form the team to put them in power.

Co-existence is another concept that he still cannot grasp especially with regards to the Opposition, which is gaining from strength to strength despite the obstacles he creates for them. In fact, the more he tries to shackle Opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim, the more popular the latter's Pakatan Rakyat coalition becomes with the people.

The most basic thing that any political leader must understand and accept is that, it is the voters who will vote and they are the grass roots who will decide and make up the majority.

So listen to what the grass roots have to say and pay attention to their sentiments. But Najib was not only foolish, naïve and insensitive, he was so stubborn he insisted on trusting his advisers although it was clear their strategy was taking him and Umno-BN down the drain. He would have done much better to have trusted the people instead!

Proud, stubborn & bungling Najib will 'have to go'

With hindsight, Najib should have made the decision to sack his advisers when the FBC Media scandal was exposed but he was too proud to pay any heed. It was only when he was pressured by many more people within UMNO to do so, plus the growing possibility that he might lose his presidency that the "stubborn" and "bungling" Najib finally gave in.

Obviously, whatever he says and does now would reflect badly on him. It would look like he is dumping them to save his own skin! And that won't be far off from the 'real' truth at all.

The damage has been done and sacking his advisers now will not give back UMNO the seats it was forced to concede at GE13. Frankly, it would not improve the situation much at all. As PAS leader Husam Musa has said, Najib would still "have to go". And so does Rosmah.

Destructive, self-consuming public relations game

There is a Malay proverb saying, “Seperti kera mendapat bunga” (like a monkey having a flower). The monkey will not be able to appreciate the beauty of the flower, and will eventually tear it to pieces.

In a way, this saying may be apt. It actually describes Najib's situation best. He blew it all despite having everything given to him on a silver platter. He can sack his strategists and start the blame game but he can never win back his credibility.

If Najib somehow manages to stay in power, it won't be due to his positive attributes nor due to a lack of credible replacements. In UMNO, there are no credible leaders left anymore, thanks to the destructive public relations game Najib and his advisers played the past 5 years whereby they tried to improve his image at the expense of his party and coalition.

In all aspects, the strategy failed. Najib continued to lose popularity, while UMNO and BN are like pariahs to the majority of Malaysians who detest them for their sheer dishonesty and doublespeak. And though it won't bring any remedy for past misdeeds, heads must still roll. Including Najib's.

Or Malaysia faces going through another mauling politically, economically and socially!

Malaysia Chronicle