Headache for Najib?

The PM must stand firm and act as a mediator and peacekeeper in line with his 'moderation' principle.

COMMENT

It is high time for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to act wisely in view of the escalating problems and issues affecting this country.

The first issue of course is in regard to racial harmony. Race relations are now at a very unhealthy level and yet the prime minister is doing nothing to rein in the extremists.

A statement by him at this point in time can do a lot to calm the temperature and calm the hotheads. Therefore why is he keeping quiet?

Another issue that is also capable of inducing protests and disturbances is the issue concerning religion.

Najib has to stand firm and act as a mediator and peacekeeper in line with his ‘moderation’ principle. Otherwise it is just a hot air concept which has failed to take off.

More on race and religion later.

The third issue that Najib has failed to look into is the fall in the value of our local currency. On the foreign exchange, it is now RM3.50 for one US Dollar and RM2.62 for one Singapore Dollar. This will cause our imports to be costly and foreign investors with businesses in Malaysia will see their profits shrinking thus making it unattractive for them to invest here.

The fourth issue that Najib must act on is in regard to the dengue epidemic which has now reached epic proportions.

Going into the first week of February this year, there are currently 6,000 dengue cases in KL and Selangor which is an increase of over 200% compared to the corresponding period last year.

Won’t this epidemic frighten the foreign tourists once they get to know about this information from the internet news? There must be serious action to fight this epidemic before it jeopardises Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

We must not forget that the World Cup Football will be held in Brazil in June this year and thus we will be competing with Brazil for a share of the world tourist market. An epidemic can seriously threaten our chances of attracting foreign tourists to our shores.

As for the fifth issue, it is none other than price hikes and the soaring cost of living. Till today the prime minister is out of his depth in solving this problem as concrete measures to rein in the continually rising costs are sorely lacking.

“It is futile for Najib to say that he understands the difficulties faced by the rakyat when he is not doing anything holistic to find a solution to these problems,” said PAS Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad.

Race and religion

Najib should take the bull by the horns and get cracking to solve the issues affecting all aspects of the people’s wellbeing but till today he is still indecisive.

Currently only this minister or that minister is saying something and this makes the rakyat all riled up when these said ministers make incredulous statements.

Back to the race and religion issues. Protesters targetting a particular race or religion are doing a disservice to the nation as foreign tourists will begin to shun Malaysia due to the disgusting antics of these said protesters who think they are showcasing Malaysia as a model of racial harmony.

What will the world think of us? Are we going on record to make our mark as the world’s laughing stock?

If efforts are not made to iron out the ongoing race and religion issues in a civil and amicable manner, the tourist arrivals will certainly take a dip as no tourist likes to visit a nation where conflict is brewing.

The same goes for health issues. Who wants to visit a nation infested by mosquitoes?

Where is the prime minister’s leadership skills in handling all these problems? He must act now and act fairly and justly.

Below is an exerpt of an article entitled ‘Apa ukuran sebenar rasis?’ by columnist Zulkifli Yahaya in PAS’ Harakah newsletter dated Feb 10-13this year which is not translated to ensure that the exact meaning is preserved intact:

“Apabila orang Cina mengkritik kesalahan pemimpin Melayu maka ia adalah rasis sekalipun kritikan tidak bertumpu terhadap isu rasis. Apabila pemimpin Melayu (Umno) mengkritik orang Cina, ia tidak menjadi rasis. Wah, apakah ini ukuran rasis kumpulan rasis Melayu yang sangat teruja setiap kali pemimpin DAP mengkritik pemimpin Umno lalu segera melenting bagai orang hilang akal? Siapa sebenarnya rasis?”

And that is the crux of the nation’s race and religion issues. Double standard and bullying abound. PM Najib should wake up and act accordingly to what he has espoused in his 1Malaysia slogan.

If not, then his slogan has failed and we are on the road to oblivion.

Selena Tay is a DAP member and a FMT columnist.