Journalist who became Najib’s eyes and ears writes tell-all book

 

Tough action by the police against the media and rally-goers at the Bersih rally in 2012 caused a public outcry but then prime minister Najib Razak was unaware of negative public sentiment. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Former foreign correspondent Romen Bose, who became Najib Razak’s political communications consultant, has written an insider’s account of the fall of the Barisan Nasional government – but says “I didn’t really want to write this book”.

Speaking to FMT from his home in London, he said: “After having seen what has transpired over the last two or three years, I felt it was important to document what had actually transpired so that people can learn the mistakes that were made.

“Malaysia has a very strong, positive future ahead of it, but people need to learn from the past so they can move forward and we can see greater cooperation between the races and the public at large. We can resolve our issues and move forward.”

In his book, ‘Final Reckoning: An Insider’s View of the Fall of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional Government’, Bose writes of how and where Umno, Barisan Nasional and Najib’s inner circle failed in the lead up to the historic 2018 general election, in which the ruling coalition lost power after six decades.

Romen Bose.

Bose joined Najib’s inner circle in 2012 as an adviser to the then prime minister.

He became aware that Najib was not being given accurate information about what had happened at the infamous Bersih rally that year and the negative sentiments towards his government

Reporting on the ground, Bose saw the police act brutishly towards both protestors and the media alike, and was keenly aware of the negativity among the people towards Najib. However, aides told him the prime minister was unaware, and was under the impression the government had handled the situation well.

As he was about to embark to London for a new opportunity, Bose pitched Najib the idea of a communications advisory group to give him regular reports on the sentiments of the people and propose policies he could consider.

“Najib said ‘I think it is a good idea and I am so glad that you have proposed this’,” Bose recalls in his book. “‘I need an accurate feel of what is actually happening on the ground, I know that many are not telling me what is actually happening as they want to curry favour with me.’”

Thus began a working relationship that lasted until Najib’s fall in 2018 amid growing inter-party tensions in BN and against the backdrop of the 1MDB scandal.

“I have no idea whether Najib has seen the book yet,” Bose admits. “I have no idea what his reaction will be to it. The book was written to reveal things warts and all, not to praise any particular group or demean any particular group. It’s an objective understanding and analysis of what transpired during that period.

“There were good and bad things, and it’s all in the book. It’s up to readers to decide who was right and who was wrong, it’s not for me to say that.”

Bose, a Singaporean, began his career as a trainee journalist with The Straits Times in the mid-1980s while still a student, and eventually worked for Mediacorp.

In 2005, he got his first taste of work in Malaysia when he landed a job at Al Jazeera, where he built his contact book before eventually moving to the French news agency AFP in 2007.

It was there that he began to build a strong relationship with Najib and the prime minister’s office, which for years had been evasive with the foreign media outlets, culminating in his appointment as an adviser to the prime minister in 2012. - FMT