Tomorrow is Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 100th Day as Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister.
Najib’s baggage as Prime Minister is vividly illustrated by the pathetic episode where Najib’s spinmeister could work up a “song and a dance” over the fact that Najib’s popularity rating in a recent poll had spiralled to 65% as compared to 45% a month after he became Prime Minister and 42 per cent just before taking over the premiership from Tun Abdullah on April 3, 2009.
Yes, it was quite a remarkable 44% recovery from 45% popularity rating in six weeks for Najib to claw back 20 percentage points in the latest Merdeka Centre opinion poll, but his spinmeisters feigned ignorance that it was really a very dismal rating when compared to the five previous Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah who would have no difficulty in securing popularity rating of 95% and over for any opinion poll in their “First 100 Days”.
Can Najib’s upsurge in popularity on his 100th day be sustained with a Barisan Nasional victory in Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan next Tuesday and is he confident enough of his national popularity to seek a motion of confidence when Parliament reconvenes on Oct 19, something he had not dared to do in the recent three-week meeting of Parliament?
As I had pointedly asked Barisan Nasional MPs in the recent Parliament, wasn’t it true that the real reason why Najib dared not seek a motion of confidence in Parliament was not that he could not be certain of the votes of 83 Pakatan Rakyat MPs, Najib was also unsure that all the Barisan Nasional MPs would cast their votes for him to express their confidence! Talk about ”musuh dalam selimut”!
Let Najib answer on his 100th Day – is he confident enough that his popularity is on the rise and public support for his policies and pledges, particularly his slogan of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” and his slew of economic and educational reforms as to seek a motion of confidence from Parliament on the sixth month of his premiership in October?
Najib should know that his political, economic and educational reforms have feet of clay.
For instance, what credibility could his 1Malaysia slogan command when Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is only prepared to say that “Umno will fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights”, but not prepared to say that Umno will similarly fight to the last drop of blood to protect the rights of all Malaysians, regardless of race?
Is there any Cabinet Minister who is prepared to publicly say that he or she is prepared to fight to the last drop of blood to protect the rights of his or her race, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans, and add in the same breath that he or she is equally prepared to right to the last drop of blood to protect the rights of all Malaysians regardless of race?
Until and unless the leaders of Umno and all the Barisan Nasional component parties are prepared to make this commitment, to fight to the last drop of blood to protect the rights of his or her race, as well as to fight to the last drop of blood to protect the rights of all Malaysians regardless of race, Najib’s 1Malaysia cannot have much meaning!
Najib said recently that the Chinese in Malaysia are most concerned about education, economy, religion and crime and he believes that if these four issues can be resolved, the Chinese will continue to support the Barisan Nasional government.
It is not just the Chinese, but all Malaysians regardless of race, who are also concerned about these four issues of education, economy, religion and crime. What must be added are corruption and Malaysian citizenship rights.
Just on crime and corruption. Is Najib prepared, on the occasion of his 100th Day, take bold measures to send unmistakable messages that he hears and endorses the cries of Malaysian for change, viz:
- Ensure that the country has a new Inspector-General of Police to provide new police leadership to focus on the core functions of police, particularly to keep crime low and make Malaysians feel safe again in their own country; and
- An all-out battle against corruption and malpractices by establishing two Royal Commissions of Inquiry,
- into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal and
- into the RM24 million Istana Khir Toyo scandal of former Umno Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Khir Toyo?
#1 by SpeakUp on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 4:51 pm
If BN wins Manek Urai then PR is doomed for a while in the public domain. PM’s pubic relations will come strong after that, stating there is a come back la, this la that la … it will give UMNO a fresh jab of adrenaline and they will get very c0cky for sure.
As for his 65% popularity, I doubt it will be a deciding factor in Manek Urai. Why should it be? Its not about voting for the Prom King and Queen.
But why is LKS only digging on the past and he does not seem to be concerned about the rise in popularity? Hannah Yeoh already stated he has heard so many complains and that the tide seems to be turning. She is concerned that people are disillusioned … then you got PKS in Selangor that wants a total revamp. Wow … is this how PR wants to win confidence?
BN suppresses all opposition to make themselves greater, UMNO calls for KETUANAN MELAYU to make themselves important at the expense of others … it seems LKS belittles others to feel that he is doing a better job? I wonder.
#2 by LG on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 5:00 pm
My comment on our PM on his 100 days is that he is liken to a wolf in sheep clothing. Sometimes you can hear the wolf-wolf sound although he try to sound out ba ba black sheep. Sometimes you can see the sharp carnivorous teeths and long tongue out. He is not like a simple white lamb but rather a sly cunning hunter seeking out for weak innocent prey.
#3 by newchief on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 5:17 pm
uncle lim uncle lim. y u always dare najib to vote his ratings in parliment o??? u think he’s afraid meh??? i don’t think so lah bcs based on his present performance, he can simply bull-doze over anything that comes his way e.g. the accusation case,port klang case,perak case, penang case, quota of foreigners case and even mathatir’s hopeful bridge revival + his english in maths and science.
maybe u don’t want to admit but tries to be champion. if najib goes for it, i can wager with u that he will win with a better % than the previous sleeping non-decisive pm because overall, bn overwrites the oppositions in parliament.
it might become an even shocker to u that some of pk members might vote for him instead bcs bn has all of the rakyat money to buy greedy and selfish pk members.
instead, i think u should dare him to go for an early general election instead but even so, it will still be bn’s win bcs sabah n sarawak are being brain-washed to be ‘fixed deposits’ for their victory.
unless your pk can come out with a better plan to topple bn, SHUT-UP and go to court if finds any hanky panky things bn did like e.g. accusation case,penang cash and toyol’s case.
somehow i feel unclelim is like thunder with no rain. he’s not like najib who’s like a flash-flood who hits with no warnings at all. must learn from this man lah. Speakup, am i right??
u should
#4 by SpeakUp on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 5:28 pm
Newchief … LKS has tons of experience. He has seen so many depressions. More than I have lived for sure. He is a man with grat wisdom. I believe he can use his wisdom in a better manner. That is what I would love to see. Not by hammering PM and all but show us what we can do to build this nation.
Of course EXPOSE all corruption and send them to hell but please, do lodge the police report la.
Yes, you are right PM will steamroll. He now wants ALL states back. If you call a general election today I doubt PR will do much better. Perak, surely can take back. Penang, maintain but majority is 50:50, cannot say more or less … Kelantan, no argument, Selangor … hold it but with a lot less majority, Kedah … perhaps may lose it or win with a very slim majority.
#5 by taiking on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 5:46 pm
Publicity surge? No. Its a publicity stun. Its been engineered. It is all in the events, their announcements and timing. Stuns like these are meant to provide super short term effect. In najib’s case it is merely to shore up his public image on the 100th day. It is not even engineered to cover his image over the time period of a hundred days. Like the sleepy head before him, that rise will kill him off eventually. Shoring up his public image inevitably means raising voters’ hope and expectation of him. Umno and najib, each with a super large baggage to lug around, are not about to meet voters’ heightened hopes and expectations. Najib simply is incapable of doing so even if he has all the intentions in the world. Lets us sit back and watch his struggle. Let him trip and fall all over his own errors.
#6 by newchief on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 5:48 pm
its strange really. bn says through khairy that bn still open the door to pas. if bn’s so sincere and intend to ‘marry’ pas for the sake of future malays, why he didn’t say bn will BOYCOTT manek urai elections toREALLY SHOW THEIR SINCERITY!!!
its also very strange why pk or especially pas didn’t say that the door is always open to bn for unity talk INSTEAD ??? show of arrogance here??? aren’t we all MALAYSIANS!!!???
if bn wins, najib,muyhiddin,rais,khairy & hishamuddin will form a ‘rock band’ to sing to the rakyat the song : “1malaysia is on the right track,right track!! ” . i’m sure this will be followed up by bands of bn members as backup singers singing “yeah,yeah,yeah”.
for once, i hope bn wins bcs i want to see how ‘good’ are their singing!!!
by the way, in regards to unity talks, can anyone enlighten me what is it that the malays of malaysia are so left behind?? i see many people of other races are also left behind (like myself) but we still respect and help each other through good and bad times.
#7 by SpeakUp on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 5:54 pm
taiking … the Merdeka Centre manupilated the results? Hmmm … interesting idea but if it were why would it have stated a short while back that Najib has a mere 45% approval rating? Food for thought?
newchief … they are left behind because their own champions allowed it to happen. Same as for MIC, that is why the Indians are revolting. Chinese are money crazy so no matter what they will “cari jalan” one to make it happen.
The Unity Talks are still not put to rest when PAS Youth wants to have some form of intellectual discussions with UMNO Youth. So now PAS will go to bed with Devil? Scary la …
#8 by limkamput on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 7:41 pm
//taiking … the Merdeka Centre manupilated the results? Hmmm … interesting idea but if it were why would it have stated a short while back that Najib has a mere 45% approval rating? Food for thought?// SpeakUp @ loose canon ball II
See, you think you are so smart again! It is called strategy, ok, in case you have not heard about this. I remember once in the 1980s, the Star newspaper was so critical of the government at that time so much so many people were so supportive of what was published in that paper. However, just one or two weeks before the general election, the newspaper did a complete reverse. Of course loose ball and those gullible like him would not have noticed and have continued to believe the garbage published in the Star at that time.
Having said all these, I must however admit that I don’t have any evidence to suggest that the Merdeka Centre’s finding was bias in anyway. What I said was strategy-wise, it could happen.
#9 by monsterball on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 7:55 pm
This post is shop talk of little value.
Be it 45% or 65 % or even 100%….we are used to hearing good news about UMNO for UMNO…by UMNO new found surveyors…on the take. Money sure can do wondeRs.
Few more days..Marek Urai by elections….and good news must come out..at right time…to win more votes.
That’s UMNO usual….out-dated strategy…give out good news..repair roads..go house to house ..give presents…money.
The good news is a cheap stunt to get voters in Marek Urai..know…they are idiots ..if they vote against UMNO…….when 65% are favoring Najib and vote against UMNO is against Najib. Will voters in Mark Urai be odds voters.. against UMNO and Najib? That’s their cheap stunt…right now.
What a good time… to announce the so cal good news.
These proven crooked sly foxes have so many tricks in their sleeves.
That’s all they know…tricks and treats to fool Malaysians…may work on simple folks.
Hope voters remember the swearing by the Koran act..indirectly insulting Allah…or bring Allah into a matter not concerning HIM..but the country’s law should apply…not use Allah as the judge..of a murder case.
Come to serious matter concerning the country…53 years still not enough..to unite Malaysians. They need more time…and meantime…digest…”1 Malaysia”…the latest idea to unite Malaysians…so said Najib.
Need I go over and over again to prove he is a liar?
No need la….the word “UMNO BARU” says it all…..meaning..” New United Malay Organization”.with the word “BARU” purposely deleted…..to fool youngsters..it is still Tunku Abdul Rahman’s UMNO.
No true..TAR died without a party.
How ungrateful..and cruel can present UMNO members be.
If Papak Malaysia.. our Papak Independence..can be ousted out and the party he formed can be erased by present UMNO leaders…what else these buggers.. dare not do.
65% ..you say?
Smart blokes. Put 70% is too much…hard to believe. 65% is the magic figure to con convincingly.
#10 by DAP man on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 7:57 pm
“..I must however admit that I don’t have any evidence to suggest that the Merdeka Centre’s finding was bias in anyway.” limkamput
If the Judiciary’s arm can be twisted to make the decisions UMNO wants, why can’t Merdeka Center’s arm be twisted to do the same? Najib has the Police, MACC, EC, AG and all the newspaper editors in his pocket.
Now what is there to stop him from deliberately making MC conduct fake surveys and come out with results that show his popularity ascending. Don’t be surprised if the next survey shows Najib having 70+ popularity.
#11 by Onlooker Politics on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 8:34 pm
Did you say that Popularity of Najib had gone up from 45% two months ago to 65% now? I really could not believe in it! Is there any problems of biased sampling or lope-sided sampling which happened during the conduct of the survey? Is the poll data being analysed and the data analysis result being interpreted by a qualified statistician or a qualified researcher?
I conducted a simple survey in my village recently. Almost 99% of the oil palm planters who live in my village commented that Najib was not an efficient Prime Minister. Most villagers were of the opinion that Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was a better Prime Minister than Najib because during Tun Abdullah’s reign, Fresh Fruit Brunches (FFB) of oil palm fetched a lucrative price of RM770 per tonne at one-time peak during 2008 but during Najib’s reign, the FFB could only be sold for RM320 per tonne as at 09.07.2009.
Some people might want to help to explain off Najib’s inefficiency by saying that the price of FFB was beyond Najib’s control because the price was determined by market forces. However, many oil palm planters in Malaysia would like to ask Najib whether he managed to get any purchase orders from Mainland China for crude palm oil (CPO) produced from Malaysia during his recent visit to Mainland China. If no, then Najib owes the Malaysian people an explanation on why he fails to get Mainland China to buy CPO from Malaysia. Otherwise, Najib will have to tell all the Malaysian people that why he is not able to secure much more purchase orders for Malaysia’s CPO. Didn’t Najib, as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, know that a vast majority of Malaysian’s families depend their household income on the international demand for CPO? Why did Najib fail in his negotiation with Mainland China for securing purchase orders from Mainland China for Malaysia’s CPO? Najib has to let us know the true reason so that the Malaysian planters may decide whether it is still profitable for them to plant additional oil palm trees again in the future!
#12 by k1980 on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 9:10 pm
Let me conduct the survey and I can make his popularity rating go up from 45% two months ago to 100% now.
How to lie with statistics- http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/stat3.html
#13 by undergrad2 on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 9:34 pm
Why should someone in the position of Najib Tun Razak seek the confidence of the majority in Parliament? Is there anything higher than the highest executive office in the country?? He is better off concentrating in generating the kind of report card that his own party is looking for than ask Parliament if he could be given the opportunity of producing that very same report card.
#14 by vsp on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 9:41 pm
Pakatan wake up and seriously start working for the people. Even if what Najib’s spinmeisters is doing to shore up his credibility is a publicity stunt, Pakatan frequent and crazy idiosyncrasies of shooting themselves in the foot will soon drive people to believe in his propaganda.
I think Anwar should spend more time nurturing the coalition instead of missing in action. He is spending too much time overseas to win a different audience instead of noticing how little Napoleans within Pakatan are wrecking havoc.
#15 by limkamput on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 9:48 pm
//He is better off concentrating in generating the kind of report card that his own party is looking for …. //undergrad2 @ tomthumb??
His own party is looking for? His party alone now can’t win general election, got it?
#16 by yhsiew on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 11:17 pm
Najib was also unsure that all the Barisan Nasional MPs would cast their votes for him to express their confidence! – Kit
====================================================
Tun Dr. M. might influence BN MPs to not give their support to Najib as the former Prime Minister could not get what he wanted e.g. the Crooked Bridge, teaching science and maths in English, no deal on the NEP (i.e. no economic liberalization) etc.
#17 by ekompute on Friday, 10 July 2009 - 11:18 pm
More than 50 years after independence, we still hear the need for Umno to “fight to the last drop of blood to protect Malay rights”. Such heroism has never been heard of during British and Japanese colonial rule. In any case, I wonder whether Muhyiddin will turn out to be another Saddam Hussein, hiding in some crevice or longkang when the time comes, like what Saddam did, even though he had always been asking others to sacrifice their lives.
#18 by Onlooker Politics on Saturday, 11 July 2009 - 12:19 am
“Tun Dr. M. might influence BN MPs to not give their support to Najib as the former Prime Minister could not get what he wanted e.g. the Crooked Bridge, teaching science and maths in English, no deal on the NEP (i.e. no economic liberalization) etc.” (yhsiew)
yhsiew is hinting that Dr. Mahathir has for a second time bet on a wrong horse! The first wrong horse was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The second wrong horse is Najib. What a pitiful and disappointed old man — Dr. Mahathir!
#19 by ekompute on Saturday, 11 July 2009 - 12:54 am
yhsiew is hinting that Dr. Mahathir has for a second time bet on a wrong horse! The first wrong horse was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The second wrong horse is Najib. What a pitiful and disappointed old man — Dr. Mahathir!
Doesn’t all of you know that any horse is the wrong horse for Dr Mahathir? By the way, who can work with him? Truth be said, no one! Absolutely no one, except himself.
#20 by frankyapp on Saturday, 11 July 2009 - 7:12 am
well,100 days have gone ,let me analyise what NR should have done but hasn’t done and what he has done but shouldn’t have done.(1) as malaysia’s 6th prime minister,he should have released all ISA detainees and done away with this act.(2),he should have retired the current IGP and replaced him with some one who is acceptable by the rakyat.(3) he should have replaced the JC and the AG as both these guys have lost the public confidence due to their biases in dealing with various disputed cases.(4) NR should have repealled the “Printing and publication Act ” so that the rakyat could enjoy the freedom of the press and other medias.(5) He should have done away with the NEP as it is the culprit of national disunity.And (6) NR should have challenged all his accusers in court to clear his image/name(referring to Mongo and C4 cases).I am pretty sure,others too could add on the list.And now the things he shouldn’t have done: (1) He shouldn’t have encouraged the illegal take over of the PR’s Perak state government.(2) He should not have appointed so many backdoor ministers and MY as minister of education.(3) He should not done away with the teaching in English in Maths and Science in school wef 2010 as it will cause pretty much hardship to both parents and students and the ultimate damage it will also cause to Malaysia in a globalised english speaking world of Science & technology,commerce, literature,and Arts & Cultures.(4)NR should not have made “slogan like 1Malaysia,peoplefirst and Performance now as it means to most Malayians as a kind of “Ketuanan Melayu”hence it’s creating pretty lots of misunderstanding and unhappiness among the non-malays.(5)He shouldn’t have let go so easily especially those VVIPs who were involve in mega scandals such as PKFZ,Petronas missing billions.(6) And he should not be afraid to call for early 13th general election,now that he thinks his rating is 65% by the general population.Here again the list can go on.In summary,I think NR has failed as prime minister .
#21 by negarawan on Saturday, 11 July 2009 - 1:31 pm
What has Najib done in the first 100 days? He came up with slogans without any substance and sincerity, Performance Now and 1Malaysia. He worsened the already poor national education system by cancelling PPSMI. He lost a few by-elections in a row. I think Rosemary need to consult more powerful bomohs ;-)
#22 by imranj78 on Saturday, 11 July 2009 - 11:16 pm
LKS, LKS,
The PM of a country has better things on his mind i.e. getting things done and improving the country. Politics, whilst still important, should be secondary when the rakyat’s interest is at stake.
I ask you this, what good would it do to the rakyat for Najib to ask for show of confidence in the parliament? Since you are claiming to be `working for the rakyat’ I am sure you would have a good answer to this. At least I hope so, or are you just too busy playing politics till you forgot why you are a MP in the first place??
#23 by SpeakUp on Sunday, 12 July 2009 - 9:09 pm
Imran … LKS is doing a GREAT service by challenging PM everytime … this is a VERY important job for an MP ok. Its VERY VERY important.
It is for such reasons why the PM is happy every night when he goes to bed:
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/24225/84/