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Saturday, April 25, 2015

On social media, voices calling for Najib’s removal grow louder

A screengrab of the Facebook community LetakJawatan which has more than 99,000 likes. – April 25, 2015. A screengrab of the Facebook community LetakJawatan which has more than 99,000 likes. – April 25, 2015. 
On Facebook, a search for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s name reveals a list topped by the prime minister’s official profile. But beneath his smiling face are several pages calling for his resignation – and each has collected thousands of “likes”.
Last week, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was alone in calling for Najib’s removal, but the proliferation of such pages suggests otherwise.
For instance, Facebook page LetakJawatan (which means “step down” in Malay) was created just one month ago, but has already garnered 99,356 “likes” as at 6pm yesterday (Friday), and gets 2 million visitors each week, said the page’s creator.
He said he created the site with a group of like-minded people as a bi-partisan outlet for Malaysians to publicly express their opinion on Najib’s policies.
“You can see from the comments of the page’s visitors that they comprise all parties, whether Umno, PKR, or PAS and are from all races,” he said.
“Will this page have an impact on Najib? My answer is yes, because those who like the page are aged 20 to 35 years, according to the Facebook statistics, and they are the voters who decide who will rule the country.”
The page shares articles and videos on hot-button issues such as the country’s debts, the recent raise in parliamentarians’ salaries, the goods and services tax, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, and Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
Nearly every post on LetakJawatan has over 100 to 1000 “likes”, with users generally agreeing in the comments section or writing on the page itself that the country was in bad shape and Najib must go.
Facebook user Ar Nikmat Amin shared on the page an open letter he penned, urging Najib to step down or be sacked for failing to manage the government well.
“For your information, Dato’, I am among those affected by the leakages under your administration. I work to death to earn RM100 a day to fulfil my family and country’s needs,” wrote Ar Nikmat.
“For your additional information, there are times when I must go down on bended knee before my customers to continue my business!”
Although reluctant to reveal his own identity, LetakJawatan’s creator confessed that he had been a strong Umno supporter since young, and that during elections, he would “climb up poles and trees to hang the party’s banners”.
But he said a prime minister should not represent just one party, but all 28 million of Malaysia’s citizens.
“I hope the prime minister sees the comments so that he can understand their feelings, as I’m confident their voices represent all Malaysians,” he said.
LetakJawatan joins the ranks of older pages such as 100,000 People Request Najib Tun Razak Resignation, which has 242,860 “likes” as at 6pm yesterday; Kami Benci Najib Tun Razak (we hate Najib Tun Razak); and 1 Juta Rakyat Mahukan Najib Razak Letak Jawatan (1 million citizens want Najib Razak to step down), among others.
Facebook is not the only outlet for frustrated Malaysians with Internet access. On Change.org, a new petition titled “Rakyat not alone. Najib MUST GO!” has already received 96 signatories as at 6pm yesterday, and in less than a day of its creation.
“Since Najib, as prime minister and finance minister, has failed to answer queries over this SCANDAL and appears to be diverting Malaysians to other self-generated issues and racial/religious controversies, we have no other option but to demand for his immediate resignation as prime minister,” read the petition.
“Dear Datuk Seri Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, with all due respect, please do this nation of ours a favour and STEP DOWN.”
Political analyst Dr Wong Chin Huat (pic, left), a fellow at think tank Penang Institute, told The Malaysian Insider that the pages were a testament to the stronger and more systematic efforts to bring Najib down.
Such pages were helping Dr Mahathir in his attempts to create the perception that Najib was on the losing side, he said, although he expressed reservation that the “likes” may also come from bots (simple computer programme used to perform highly repetitive operations) and cybertroopers.
“Najib’s opponents are trying to create the appearance that he is finished, and once his supporters fall for that, then they will dump him and he will truly be finished. They don’t want to be seen as being on the losing side.
“But I think Najib will still stay on for now because he still holds political patronage in the party,” said Wong.
Ibrahim Suffian, who heads independent pollster Merdeka Center, said such pages had an impact on public opinion because it showed people were brave enough to put their name and profile to call for Najib to step down.
“These pages can be influential, but it will take more for such calls to translate to action and lead to Umno actually pushing him out,” said Ibrahim.
Ibrahim (pic, right) said Najib would only be in danger if support from within the party began to erode.
While the undercurrent of happiness was there in Umno, it would “take a lot” for Najib’s opponents to find the courage to actually rise up and demand he step down, said Ibrahim.
“Whether or not Najib lasts or goes depends on what he wants. If he wants to stay on, he has to take the necessary action to limit the influence of Dr Mahathir.
“Otherwise, over time Dr Mahathir will erode support in party, taint his credibility, and affect the public mood,” said Ibrahim.
On Thursday, Dr Mahathir again called for Najib to step down, saying the prime minister’s inability to explain the disappearance of billions from debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) disqualified him from leading the country.
The retired statesman recently also told Malay ruling party Umno to remove Najib as president, or risk losing the next general election.
- TMI

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