Today marks the first anniversary of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the sixth Prime Minister with all the mainstream media singing peans of praise for his first year as Prime Minister.
The mainstream media were also full of superlative praises for Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his first year as Prime Minister – but what has happened to him?
It will be better for Najib and the country if the Prime Minister is more anchored to reality and realize that after his first 12 months as Prime Minister, nothing much as changed apart from a surfeit of sloganeering.
In less than a year, Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan and concept has been torn to smithereens by his own Cabinet and the question now is whether the second pillar of his premiership, the New Economic Mode (NEM), would suffer the same fate as his 1Malaysia slogan.
How different is the NEM from NEP – New Economic Policy – which has landed the country in a middle-income trap, with the Malaysian economy suffering stagnation while other countries have either caught up or overtaken us in the league of economic development?
Will the NEM guarantee that there will be no repetition of the abuses of the NEP such as the following:
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Rampant corruption causing the country to lose RM28 billion a year.
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Only RM2 billion has remained in the hands of bumiputeras out of the RM54 billion shares allotted to bumiputras since the NEP.
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At least RM100 billion wasted or burned in the 22 years of the premiership of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on grandiose projects and corruption – openly alleged by Barry Wain in his book “Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times”.
If not, what is the difference between the NEM with the NEP?
[Speech by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang at the PAS ceramah in Arau, Perlis on Saturday, 3rd April 2010 at 11.30 pm]
#1 by k1980 on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 12:09 pm
He lasted less than 6 years. What happened to him?
Look at Moo’s grinning face and you have the answer. Will Jib also last less than 6 years?
Kindergarten teacher: What is the difference between the NEM with the NEP?
3 year-old student: The first has an ‘M’, the second has a ‘P’
3 year-old student’s mummy: My child is so clever!
#2 by the reds on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 1:08 pm
For non-bumi, there is no difference for sure. For bumi, it is still uncertain. Implementation is always the most difficult part :)
#3 by DCLXVI on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 1:14 pm
There are shares in major mainstream media companies being owned by or linked to BN political parties, especially Umno.
In addition, their licences are issued at the pleasure of the Umno-BN controlled federal government.
Therefore, superlative (or even super duper) praises for the boss of Umno-BN in the mainstream media are a must in order to mess with the rakyat’s minds, especially with the approaching Hulu Kelang by-election…
#4 by johnnypok on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 1:19 pm
Political stability is more important for those who are doing business. The rich has everything to gain, while the poor has nothing to lose. Bak Kut Teh and his billionaire sons need to worry more.
#5 by yhsiew on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 1:22 pm
Najib must not waste time in sloganeering anymore. To avoid ending up like his predecessor, Najib must get down to business immediately, that is to work out strategies, human resource and timeframes to bring to pass the promises made in the NEM. The rakyat and foreign investors are anxious to know HOW and BY WHAT MEANS Najib is going to deliver the promises made in the NEM.
#6 by frankyapp on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 1:28 pm
Like I said b4,all the MSM are Umno/Bn sided.Hence it’s abnormal if the MSM did not give pretty lots of sensational and superlative praises to NR especially on his one year in office. If ,ok just if Anwar became Umno’s president tomorrow,I bet all your ringgit,these same MSM would heap upon him hundreds of super or even megalative praises.I think Malaysia’s MSM especially its editors have no eithics. Though Malaysia enjoys some first class infrastructures,our MSM are chanting out pretty lots of trashs,all because of some low class editors.
#7 by johnnypok on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 1:42 pm
A major cultural revolution is needed in order to weed out corruption and what not.
In the meantime, the situation will be like inside a pressure-cooker without a safety valve. There are now too many cooks within UMNO, with many crooks like Bak Kut Teh and that Ali guy, who are incest with dreams of becoming instant billionaire.
Politics = Passport to Wealth
#8 by pwcheng on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 3:16 pm
The media at one time , not long after 3/08 had a more balanced report but it is back to square one now. They must have been warned to toe the line or else license will be suspended. To counter this we can use the peoples power to boycott the paper that is skewed. That will make their license irrelevant. If the paper can be cowed by the government the people will have the alternative power.
#9 by yhsiew on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 4:24 pm
///Perkasa Youth chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah took offence to the criticism and called on both Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders to apologise within 48-hours from Friday or he would pressure Gerakan and MCA leaders to sack them.
Arman’s demand has fallen on deaf ears, however, with both Low and Teng refusing to succumb to the threat, and today continued to criticise Perkasa, claiming it was anti-1 Malaysia./// (The Malaysian Insider)
With Najib’s 1Malaysia in such tatters, how can the mainstream media sings paeans of praise for Najib’s first year as Prime Minister. The mainstream media has to be realistic.
#10 by tak tahan on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 5:44 pm
Mamakteh:NEP=”Malay first,Malay first”
NR:NEM=”Malay first,aah..aah gimme some time pls..ahh..pening”
To be announced at later stage but cross our fingers and toes
#11 by pulau_sibu on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 7:21 pm
haha, he is able to go to united states because he paid so much money to apco, who can bribe the white house. remember how much mahathir paid in order to see bush?
#12 by Winston on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 7:42 pm
Uncle Lim, no matter what acronyms this failure uses, it makes no difference at all.
As far as the MSM is concerned, we all know that they are sycophants, without any exception.
The UMNO/BN government is a failure.
The only thing left for the electorate to do is to administer the coup de grace.
#13 by lee wee tak_ on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 10:13 pm
i sympathise with Najib now, starve of real praise, he has to get his controlled MSM to praise him while without invitation or bribery or threats, Transparency International goes Ke poh chee (busy body) and praise Lim Guan Eng
genuine recognition comes not from telling your kaki bodek or budak suruhan to praise you, but uninvited and independent acknowledgement from people not under your thumb
#14 by monsterball on Sunday, 4 April 2010 - 11:20 pm
It also marks the end of his unelected PMship drawing nearer.
Patient is the mother of virtues.
Wait and show your power of love for the country and people…..by voting these rogues out of our lives.
We do have an alternative….as seem from 12th GE….and it was after 12th GE..Najib try to be nice to everyone…but within UMNO BARU…you have sen contradictions after contradictions…proving Najib have no power..just for show…within his own party.
Naturally….all trained by the …corrupted master…Mahathir..how to talk…twist and turn and keep applying race and religion dirty politics….to hope winning votes from Muslims more than anything else…to survive again.
Anyone cannot see how UMNO BARU with his MCA nd MIC puppets…trying to divide and rule must be blind….and if they can see and still agree to be divided…then Malaysians are the most selfish idiotic people on Earth…ignoring total freedom for personal benefits.
Lets see…how much souls can be bought by the devil.
#15 by pulau_sibu on Monday, 5 April 2010 - 12:57 am
don’t worry when you have power in hand. all media will continue to praise you like God. we have witnessed the cases like mahathir and abdullah, and to certain extent anwar. when you lost your power, you are like a dog. you can keep barking but no one cares about you
#16 by yusdita on Monday, 5 April 2010 - 1:27 am
Only RM2 billion has remained?
No lah, we have reinvested RM52 billion somewhere. We are savvy investors!
#17 by johnnypok on Monday, 5 April 2010 - 3:59 am
It is like using make-up to cover an ugly face.
Mainstream media is fast becoming out-of-date. You can no longer play hide and seek like before. The Mongolian story will continue to haunt you for the rest of your life.
#18 by isahbiazhar on Monday, 5 April 2010 - 5:43 am
The first year saw nothing drastic.All the internal statistics showed dismal failure but the external statistics were made to look positive.Najib will join the other two who tried but failed to lift.Najib will go down in history as the son of a former PM unlike Mahathir who created Putrajaya to satisfy his cronies.Najib came at a time when cronies had to disappear because it was too difficult to hide as no one can be trusted including his deputy.Till the next election he will be preoccupied as to how to maintain his position and one way is to give ang pows wherever he could till the treasury is depleted and when the opposition takes over the government it has to take loans from China and India!
#19 by Loh on Tuesday, 6 April 2010 - 10:35 am
The never ending misery for Malaysians will not end under NEM. Najib will give a few scholarships to non-malays, and some assistance to non-Malay poor. All the abuses under NEP stay. But the 40% ‘poor’ together with the votes of the cronies and Perkasa would make sure that UMNO gets elected again and again.
#20 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 6 April 2010 - 6:21 pm
What happened to him? Aisay, u no know ah?
Happily married n enjoying blissful married life, making babies
Who knows, daughter n father may become parents at d same time