Road to GE15: Najib warns grassroots not to crave luxury, material goods

 

Pekan MP Najib Abdul Razak has already begun rallying Umno grassroots to prepare for the 15th general election, which need not be called until 2023.

Speaking to supporters in his constituency yesterday, he envisioned that a strong and self-reliant Umno will return to power in the next general election.

To ensure that goal is achieved, the embattled former prime minister advised local leaders to focus on winning over the rakyat instead of on the trappings of wealth.

“We should not crave for luxury in anything that we do, because luxury and material goods are not the determinants of our success.

“If we show off too much and people say we are arrogant, that will be the cause of our defeat.

“People do not like leaders who are show-off, lavish or arrogant in terms of their attitude and how they carry themselves.

“This, in fact, is the most effective weapon. Not greed or material goods but it is our attitude and leadership, this needs to be liked by the people.

“When the rakyat likes us and loves us, this has been the basis of our (Umno’s) victory all this while,” he said in his officiating speech at the Pekan Umno branch assembly meeting.

Najib did not elaborate if such advice stemmed from personal experience or elsewhere.

During his nine-year tenure as prime minister, he was dogged by the 1MDB global financial scandal and US Department of Justice civil forfeiture suits detailing the use of public funds for dealings in luxury properties, jewellery, luxury goods and art.

After leading BN to its first-ever general election defeat in GE14, the authorities raided Najib’s residences and uncovered close to RM1 billion worth of jewellery, luxury watches, luxury handbags, sunglasses and foreign currency.

He was also charged with a slew of 1MDB-related corruption, money laundering and abuse of power cases.

In July 2020, Najib was convicted on all seven charges in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd case. He is appealing the 12-year jail sentence while his other cases are ongoing.

Political stability in GE15?

Following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan federal administration, Umno returned to power in March 2020 by cooperating with the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

The latter collapsed in August 2021 and Umno’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob now leads the current administration as prime minister while Najib remains an influential backbencher.

Commenting in his speech on the political instability, Najib said Umno did not have full control over the current government as it did not have the most Parliament seats.

He claimed voters missed the “BN era” and hoped the coalition would win the most seats in GE15 so that Malaysia would be politically stable once again.

However, he also signalled that the political landscape could continue to change.

“If we want to bring that era back, we need to ensure Umno emerges as the ‘pillar’ when forming the next government in GE15 - by having the most number of seats along with our BN partners.

“Whether or not we will have other friends (going into the election), this remains a question for us now.

“Even I find it hard to answer (the question of) what kind of political agreement will emerge in GE15,” he admitted.

Nevertheless, Najib told Umno grassroots that the party ought to be prepared to stand alone.

“We cannot rely on others. If they are with us, that is good. But if they are not, Umno must be able to fight alone.

“I believe we in Pekan and the state constituencies here will be able to stand alone,” he said. - Mkini