Pitiable. Petulant. Pathetic. These three words can be used to describe the disgraced former prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak.
After the fourth day of his trial, he emerged from the court complex, appearing like a pitiful, pathetic figure, whose petulance had not decreased. He is probably unaware that he is the engineer of his own destiny.
Najib has squandered all that he inherited from the nation when he assumed power 10 years ago. The scion of a family with a political pedigree and a touch of nobility, his privileged background enabled him to have an English education and access to the corridors of power.
He used to court presidents, kings, the Hollywood and Bollywood glitterati and powerful industrialists, but more's the pity. On the second day of his trial, there was a mere trickle of supporters.
When he became PM, he had big shoes to fill, to continue his father's legacy and ensure that Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Wawasan 2020 vision, was on track. Mahathir has acknowledged that he is indebted to Najib's father, Abdul Razak Hussein, for giving him a second chance in Umno.
Najib inherited a nation that was immensely wealthy, but was still able to function, unlike some banana republics. Unemployment was relatively low. We didn't suffer from currency fluctuations like Zimbabwe. Our civil servants were still being paid, unlike Greece. Toilet rolls and milk powder were still available, unlike in Venezuela.
Malaysia's greatest asset is its human capital and its diversity. Instead of building on this, Najib was more inclined to divide us with the four "Rs" (race, religion, rural folk and royalty).
By Day 4, Najib's petulance had exposed his inner demons. He barked at a policemanfor trying to prevent a law student from approaching him, but the policemen was only doing his job. This is a security issue, because the policeman would be responsible if the man who claimed to be a student, was armed and meant to cause harm.
Contrast this with the past, when an army of policemen would have formed a solid barrier to stop well-wishers and journalists from having access to Najib.
When the money evaporates...
Najib's supporters have abandoned him. There were none of the screaming, excited supporters, desperate to shake his hand and take selfies. This is the flip-side of the "Cash is King" culture. When the money evaporates, so does the affection and adoration.
Najib is now capitalising on social media to rebrand his image as a man wronged, and his efforts may possibly work on the ignorant and those who are in denial.
On April 16, aware that his performance will be scrutinised, and in spite of his court case, Najib wrote on Facebook, comparing the performance of his Umno-Baru/BN administration with that of the Pakatan Harapan government.
He claimed that during his nine-year tenure as PM, nine legacies had given his administration many problems. These were:
1. The lopsided independent power producer (IPP) deals;
2. An outdated, opaque and inefficient taxation system;
3. Poor regional development in the East Coast states, Sabah and Sarawak;
4. Lopsided PLUS highway toll concessions;
5. Insufficient funds for Felda to replant crops and care for the welfare of ageing settlers;
6. Frequent confrontations with other countries;
7. The overly big income gap;
8. Expensive car tax; and
9. Problems with public transportation.
He said, "In the nine years BN governed when I was PM, we were sincere and worked hard to develop the country and increase wealth for all Malaysians.
“In our efforts, we never blamed the government under the past prime minister. Whenever we faced problems, we fixed it. We did not point fingers.”
Most will acknowledge that these legacies had their origins in Mahathir's first tenure as prime minister, but successive PMs, including Najib, merely capitalised on these easy money spinners.
- .In 1978, when he was 25, he entered the cabinet as the deputy minister of energy, telecommunications and post. The youngest deputy minister.
- In 1982, the 29-year-old Najib became the Pahang menteri besar, and scored another first as the youngest MB.
- In 1986, Mahathir, who was the PM, appointed Najib as the minister of culture, youth and sports.
- In 1991, Najib was made the minister of defence.
- In 1995, he became the minister of education.
- In 2000, Najib returned to the Ministry of Defence, but in 2008, the erstwhile PM, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, made him the Minister of Finance, and in 2009, Abdullah made Najib the deputy prime minister.
The timeline shows that Najib held important ministerial roles and had been intricately involved in the decision makings of the cabinet.
Najib is disingenuous to claim that he was trapped by problem legacies. Why did he fail to point out the issues while he was in any of his cabinet posts?
Later, as PM, he could have paid off the toll concessionaires. He did not because he knew the tolls were a gold mine.
His policies and his mismanagement of various institutions contributed to the enormous wealth gap between the "haves" and "have-nots". He and his cronies plundered Felda and other institutions like Mara, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Tabung Haji. His cronies were appointed heads of government-linked companies (GLCs). They were paid exorbitant salaries.
He sacked those who complained, like his former deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, and the then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail.
Politicians like Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Adnan Mansor and the late Jamaluddin Jarjisamassed eye-watering fortunes.
Najib, his spouse and family shamelessly paraded their ill-gotten wealth to the public. He disputes the claim from the Income Tax Department that he owes it RM1.5 billion. He could have abolished the approved permit (AP) system, but did not.
Najib complained about nine problem legacies, but the nation is saddled with 90 of his problem legacies.
Harapan is working to remove the endemic corruption from all levels of industry, the government, the civil service and society. This will take time.
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