By Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | February 2, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Sometime ago I met The Economist correspondent Dr Richard Cockett who asked me whether Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will succeed in his transformation ideas.
I said, Najib will not suceed. And why not? Because Umno won’t let him succeed.
Take the case of his New Economic Model (NEM). Nowadays we hardly hear about it. In the 2011 Umno general assembly, Najib did not even mention it.
Instead he devoted much of his speech sounding very combative and full of vehemence. What he did at the time was to actually retrograde to Umno cavemen politics – stick and stones.
So how is he going to push his tranformation agenda? Knowing Najib, he will revert to the ‘old’ tested ways of ‘patronage’.
He will select cronises and push through his economic agenda by giving directly negotiated projects masked by seemingly transparent methods.
The ‘chosen few’ will be recommended by the “man who can walk on water” (former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad).
Najib’s ideas rejected
If you recall, in the 2010 Umno general assembly, all Najib’s big ideas were rejected and thwarted by Umno delegates.
They were obviously mirroring the general objection to Najib’s adventurist ideas which were his alone and most probably, scripted by expensively paid consultants.
His idea of 1Malaysia with the hazy notions of inclusiveness and outward readiness was immediately rejected by the delegates who insisted on a “Malay first” policy on everything.
So what 1Malaysia is Najib talking about?
Najib’s plans to transform the economy and especially that of the Malays through his NEM founded on hazy notions of affirmative policies based on free market economics and affirmative policies based on merits were met with howls from delegates who insisted on the continuation of NEP-like policies.
In the end, Najib was left standing alone and could only muster his last trump card to claim high pedestal, and that is that he is the son of Tun Razak (second prime minister).
No one can dispute that. Genetically he is, but culturally, he isn’t. Najib doesn’t have the leadership qualities of Tun Razak.
Najib up against Umno wall
How can he push his liberalist economic agenda through a mindset accustomed to patronage?
Will the Umno warlords, who have only known survival through the party’s patronage system allow an anointed successor, even if he is the son of Tun Razak, to dismantle a system that has provided them with succor?
Now, that would be suicidal.
Better to sacrifice Najib than allow a system that has spawned hordes of tenderpreneurs from being replaced his blasphemous idea.
In short, Najib faces a brick wall in Umno and has nowhere to go. Either he faces the Umno firing squad or capitulate.
How then is he going to push his transformation agenda?
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The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and now a DAP member. He is a FMT columnist.
#1 by Godfather on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 11:25 am
He will to be all things to all men. He says Perkasa is not linked to the government, but he does not say that Perkasa is not linked to UMNO. At the UMNO GA, he played the race card, then he told CSL and Koh Boh Hood not to worry – it was only party rhetorics.
What transparency and open tender is he talking about ? Syed Mokhtar, Mamakthir’s favourite Malay, wins everything. Highway projects, defence contracts – these are all inflated through direct negotiation. Has any piratisation contract been awarded at a lower cost than original estimates ?
#2 by Godfather on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 11:30 am
I was with a MCA central committee member during CNY, and he lamented the fact that Najib is not in control. The UMNO warlords are in control and are getting arrogant. Their demands are getting louder, and minority parties like MCA are retreating with the type of leadership they have – b@ll-less.
#3 by SENGLANG on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 2:31 pm
Pak Lah want to make changes he failed, Ah Jib Ko also want to make changes. He is smarter and engaged professional to fine tuned his agenda and clothed them as expensive as the cloths as her wife. We all now it will not succeed but he will use it to fool many Malaysians.
It was never easy to make changes more so the corrupted mind sets of all BN components parties have been become as good as their culture.
The so call warlords are none other than those who have been greedy and pockets what ever they can have from all previous BN policies during TM’s times
I
#4 by dagen on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 2:36 pm
He thought that he could be like a chameleon -change the colour of his skin to merge with the colour of his immediate surrounding. So in a human rights forum he would speak about respecting human rights. In the presence of chinese he speaks of fairness and equality. When in umno he screams the importance of umnoputra domination. The problem is he merges too well with his surroundings. In consequence he became indistinguishable from the surroundings.
#5 by Bigjoe on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 2:36 pm
I seriously disagree. Najib never wanted wanted reform. He is too deep into corruption. His plan is based on one simple fact – HE HAD NOTHING ELSE..He could not just sit around and collect a paycheck could he? His plan was based on advisers and consultants who merely took a page from other countries. He never really understood what it really was himself.
Privately Najib told reformist that the conservatives and warlords stood in the way. It was not sincere. Look through defense contracts and its clear he is in his own word ‘the biggest worlord of them all’..
#6 by Godfather on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 2:48 pm
I asked the MCA central executive committee member – don’t you guys get angry with all these exposes of corruption, and abuse of power ? Don’t you guys get sick of all these double-speak while the country is being pillaged ?
The answer was that the committee discussed it, but never brought up any resolution against it. Instead the committee expressed alarm at the “who’s who: who won the piratisation contracts ! This is so typical of the MCA – they are more interested in having a share of the piratisation and pillaging than in openly voicing out the cancer of corruption.
Najib’s handling of the MCA is also typical – MCA goes to him with a complain on why certain deals were given to, say, Syed Mokhtar, and Najib’s reply would be “don’t worry, you’ll get your turn”. These people are all taking turns at raping the country !
#7 by raven77 on Thursday, 2 February 2012 - 10:17 pm
Take away the money off the warlords and its game over…