The smirk on Najib Abdul Razak's face, when he received the official invitation to visit The White House on Sept 12 says it all.
Najib and his wife, the self-styled "First Lady of Malaysia" (FLOM), are in a triumphant mood. The Birkins, the Manolo Blahnik stilettos and the choicest diamond and sapphire earrings are packed. This invitation means more than any other invitation. This trip means "Acceptance".
Najib's propaganda machine will go into overdrive. They will claim that this trip is proof that he has been vindicated and exonerated from involvement in the 1MDB scandal. This trip is a political coup.
Najib's critics see his invitation to the Oval Office as Najib's 5Ps. It is a form of political patronage, the sort to which Malays are accustomed, in "affirmative action" Malaysia.
Najib has merely taken this patronage to the international level. He is practising his form of diplomacy, the art of "You help me, I help you". China is flexing its muscles around the world, and although we are a small bit player, the Straits of Malacca is an important waterway and we are still considered a moderate Muslim nation.
Najib's 5Ps are Self-promotion; Self-publicity; Personal agenda fulfilment; Preparation for GE-14; and Political superiority. The Washington meeting is about his political survival, and he will milk this trip as much as he can. It is a political victory.
It does not matter if Najib is reamed by the press pack at a press conference on Sept 12. By the time the encounter is broadcast to Malaysian viewers, by TV3, the grilling will be sanitised or edited out altogether. We will see a beaming Najib, enthusiastically shaking hands with the perma-tan Donald Trump, beside FLOM, with her carefully spun image as a self-proclaimed philanthropist, dwarfed by the First Lady of America.
They say that opposites attract, but the truth is that like-minded people are drawn to one another, and so it is with Trump and Najib.
Both men have big egos. Both men think big. In a speech in Warsaw this July, Trump spoke out in defence of "western civilization". Back home, Najib has constantly championed Umno-Baru as the only party which will defend the Malays, and protect Islam.
Both men have no major policy accomplishments. Can you think of any?
They both have a problem with the media and the free speech. Trump can learn a lot from Najib, about shutting down independent newspapers and intimidating reporters. Trump complains that his image has been destroyed by "fake news". Sadly, many of us think that what looks like "fake news" in Malaysia, is real.
Both men are clueless about being responsible leaders. They are good at appealing to the most extreme and intolerant in their respective societies. This trip could be termed as "White Supremacist meeting the Malay Supremacist".
Both condone racism. Trump made his remarks about "both sides to blame", for the Charlottesville neo-Nazi violence, which resulted in one death, while Najib praised the Red Shirts "peaceful" rally on Sept 16, 2015. In reality, it was a march that championed bigotry.
Both men have sacked their attorney-generals, but at least, in America, the people do rise-up and protest when they see an injustice. At home, judges and heads of the civil service are beholden to the PM.
Both men are fascinated with numbers
Both men are fascinated with numbers. Trump was furious when reporters said his inauguration did not attract as many people as Obama's. At home, Najib dismissed reports that the Bersih 4 rally attracted 500,000 people and insisted that his Red March rally was a major crowd puller, despite the participants being bribed to attend.
Both men enjoy golf and have played together, but Najib was so enthralled by teeing-off with the POTUS, that he forgot his obligations to the suffering Malaysian flood victims, in 2014.
Both men promote the economy by building walls; one on the Mexican border, although Najib is more ambitious. He has built walls on the Thai-Malaysia border and the metaphorical one around Putrajaya.
Each has his own way of dealing with difficult questions. One is a Twitter-maniac, whilst the other does a "Najib", which may enter the Oxford English Dictionary to mean, "no comment".
Trump is unpredictable. When he makes a speech, one does not know what he will say, because he rarely follows his script. On the other hand, Najib is entirely predictable. Take what he says to mean the opposite. This, he learned from his mentor.
Both men do not champion women's rights. Trump is a misogynist, while Najib does not trust any woman to hold a senior role. He was the Minister for Women, a few years ago, when Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (photo) stepped down, after the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal.
Najib recently became the chairperson of MyWin, a new government body tasked with empowering women in the corporate sector. His deputy is a man. It also says a lot about the woman who "invited" him to become chairperson, Shahrizat, the co-founder of MyWin.
Both men are famed for their flip-flops. Both men are good at declaring a victory, after a defeat. Although Trump failed to repeal Obamacare, he still claimed he was successful. Najib lost GE13 but said that he had the mandate of the people, even if it was only 47 percent of the population.
Life is almost perfect now, for Najib. The debts incurred by1MDB are being paid-off with Beijing's help. It all seems too easy. Malaysia will be indebted to China, possibly for the next 20 years.
Mismanaging the country's finances, and getting someone to repay them, is a bit like being a druggie. You feel good. You buy more (drugs). You crave more. Your body develops a tolerance and you do not realise that you need more, and more, and more.
So, should one chase the dragon, or fly with the eagle? Forget about the American cavalry saving us from kleptocracy. They won't. They will not want to be accused of meddling in our domestic affairs.
Trump has promised the Americans to "Make America great again". He will keep the American economy going, by selling us more armaments and fighter aircraft. So, if you want change, you know what to do in GE-14.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.