Arrogant, illogical Najib ignores rating drop, insists it shows 52% SUPPORT HIS PRICE HIKES

KUALA LUMPUR - If Malaysians had hoped to see some humility from their elitist Prime Minister Najib Razak, following a shock 20% drop in approval rating, they will be mightily disappointed.

Not only is the 60-year-old Najib insistent on hammering through a rash of price hikes and subsidy cuts, he actually said the sharp austerity measures were "good for the people".

This is indeed a rather insensitive statement given that many of Malaysia's middle and lower income groups have been complaining for years about feeling the pinch due to rising food and transports costs that Najib, as Finance Minister, has done little to alleviate.

Najib also blamed the Opposition and distanced himself from their "populist" ways. Yet he himself and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have been the most scrutinized and criticized over the past 5 years for unfruitful spending sprees especially on public relations and image consultants who have billed the national treasury by the hundreds of millions.

Callous, facetious and disrespectful?

Pollster Merdeka Centre had a day announced its latest survey, showing Najib's approval rating falling by 10 percentage points to 52% from 62%.

Yet even in face of such a public thumbs-down, Najib responded with a lack of maturity that disrespected his own stature as well as his fellow citizens.

His minders even sought to turn his embarrassingly low popularity score of 52% into a joke, saying that in their eyes this showed Najib had 52% support of the people to jack up prices.

Such callous and facetious response at a time when the people are truly worried and unhappy with their daily grind can only further fuel the flames of public anger.

"Najib should quit fooling around, trying to act cool and get serious instead. Before forcing the people to pay up for his government's own lax policies, Najib must show how much they are willing to tighten their own belt. Don't expect the people to sacrifice while he jet-sets all over the world and is never around to take care of issues that need decisive handling," Opposition MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Look at how rampant crime, racism and religious intolerance has become, look at how badly our education standards have fallen. But where is the PM - he is always either overseas and even when he is around he is not interested or doesn't want to stick his neck out. Even in such a critical issue as this, after the people have made very clear their displeasure at his performance, he still wants to pass the buck to his press secretary."

Absolutely necessary but how about saying 'NO' to the cronies first?

Tian was responding to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office today.

“To keep Malaysia’s economy strong, we need to keep our public spending in check. That means raising some rates and cutting some subsidies. Some measures may not be popular now, but over the medium-term what is good for the economy is also good for the people," said the statement issued by Najib's press secretary Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad.

Sariffuddin said while in the short-term the price increases and subsidy cuts would be "unpopular with some", these were "absolutely necessary to maintain investor confidence in Malaysia".

Additionally, these unpopular measures would help continue Malaysia's "strong growth in jobs and income over the last four years", he claimed but without providing substantiation.

Price Hike Year 2014

Indeed, Najib's second term in office has been marked by price hike after hike since petrol subsidies were slashed twice this year. Even the sugar subsidy was completely abolished and he also announced a Goods and Services Tax with a start rate of 6% effective in 2015, when presenting the Budget 2014.

That seemed to open a floodgate to various other price increments by his ministers and other seinior officers. For example, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall had rushed to raise assessment rates by as high as 200 percent for property owners here, while a double-whammy hike in electricity and toll rates are also due to be implemented early in 2014.

Plans to raise public transport rates are also on the table for the middle of next year, prompting the Opposition to name the next 12 months as being 'Price Hike Year 2014'.

How much can BR1M do?

Najib however hopes to down public anger through BR1M, a cash aid scheme of RM500 for each family that qualifies.

“In the short-term, the government is providing extra help to those who need it most. From Monday, some 7.9 million recipients in households earning under RM4,000 a month can apply for new BR1M payments.  We are opening new 1Malaysia shops, to help with the cost of daily goods, and new 1Malaysia Klinik to provide affordable healthcare,” said Sariffuddin.

But how long can RM500 last and how much can it buffer the ordinary Malaysian from the cold winds that are poised to sweep through the world as the United States begin to taper down liquidity to the markets and start to raise interest rates

“The Government is unable to show that it is sharing the financial burden by eliminating waste. Instead the public sees that the burden to be more prudent is on them,” political analyst Khoo Kay Peng was quoted as saying by the Malaysian Insider.

"What the country wants and what Najib has to do is provide firm, fair resolute and compassionate leadership," said Ramon Navaratnam, a retired senior civil servant.

Arrogant and revengeful, what happened to humble and caring?

Sadly, Najib does not appear to be anywhere capable of being able to rise to the challenge. Especially after his callous response to the public's wake up call to him to buck up.

Instead of taking the people's chastisement with humility and apologizing for his tardiness, it looks like Najib wants to take a 'whack' at the citizenry for giving him the thumbs down.

When he should be treasuring the 52% who still supported him, Najib has chosen to make fools of them, thanking them for allowing him to rub in their faces an upcoming slew of painful and merciless price hikes. Such policy cycles invariably end in runaway costs of living, followed by an economic down spiral, and then the dreaded bubble-bursting and domino effect.

"International institutions, investors and agencies have backed this responsible approach, and 52% of respondents to the recent poll approve of the prime minister’s performance," was what the enlightened statement from his office said.

"Unlike the opposition, which promises everything to everyone, the government is taking the tough decisions needed to protect Malaysia’s economy."

They should take heed of the Mercdeka Center survey of their boss, which showed Najib's approval rating this month at its lowest since September 2009, which had been 59%.

Additionally, ratings on Najib's tenure have been plagued by long downtrends since breaking the 70% mark twice, in 2010 and 2011, while the dissatisfaction level has seen consistent growth from the initial 16 percent to 40 percent.

- Malaysia Chronicle