Najib losing PM mandate, says PAS MP

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

July 31, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is losing his mandate to lead the country due to his administration’s mishandling of the Bersih 2.0 rally, flip-flop policies as well as irrational spending of federal funds, a PAS MP wrote today.

Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad acharged that Najib’s attempts at introducing “inclusive” economic policies have been rejected by leaders within Umno.

“Najib has become the biggest liability for Umno as the 13th general elections draws closer,” he wrote in his column published by The Malaysian Insider.

“Najib has lost the goodwill and respect of the people, and this is a bad sign for a leader, especially for a leader of a government,” he added.

Dzulkefly (picture) said Bersih 2.0 had shown “Najib’s bad leadership and his inability to handle the challenges of new politics, adding “Najib has failed to address the demands of electoral reform and civil society and has put a negative perception on himself and his administration.

He also said this was apparent as Najib’s reform policies have been met with derision and attacks by former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed as well as Malay-rights group Perkasa.

“Najib is now seen by warlords within his own party as destroying the political dominance of the Malay race,” he added.

The starting up of Teraju, the abolishing of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), said Dzulkefly was Najib’s unsuccessful attempts towards pacifying Umno warlords.

“Najib has not handled the attacks from within his own party well,” he said.

Dzulkefly pointed out that Najib had failed to address key issues which took place in the country since he was elected PM- the use of “Allah” among non-Muslims, the cow-head incident as well as the Perak government “takeover” by Barisan Nasional (BN).

“He(Najib) does not exhibit the qualities his late father possessed. He is reckless... words like ‘you help me, I help you, only strengthens the practice of corruption during elections.

“He is synonymous with ‘flip-flop’ policies, a quality which does not shoe firmness,” said the PAS lawmaker.

Dzulkefly added that wasteful expenditure — such a millions of ringgit in electricity and utility bills spent for Najib and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s residences per year have only fuelled public anger and dissatisfaction towards Najib’s rule as PM.