PM confounded by pro-opposition civil servants

Malaysiakini
Oct 16, 10 11:41pm

Prime Minister Najib Razak is baffled that there are civil servants and government pensioners who preferred to support the opposition.

“We have to look into this … this is not right. Maybe because they were angry with a few, they decided to ditch the whole ship,” he said when launching an Umno Club for retired senior government officers at his official residence, Seri Perdana, today.

“Civil servants should know better that it is only Umno that can ensure our survival.”

He then launched a broadside against the opposition PKR.

“Look at what is happening at a party on the other side now. Chairs flying, members suffering broken arms, sprained limbs. And all because someone wants to occupy the prime minister’s residence in Putrajaya,” he said.

“I want to ask who were the ones who questioned Article 153 in the Constitution? Malay privileges; who questioned them?

“Who caused the incident of not offering prayers for the well-being of the king? Who wanted Universiti Teknologi Mara to be opened to the non-Malays. Not Umno, but the other side,” he said.

At the same time, he said Umno must continue to be seen as a party that was principled and had consideration for others.

“We must be fair… fair to the Malays as well as the non-Malays in the country. Only then we can have a nation that is united, strong and successful,” he said.

“There cannot be a situation where the majority group owns the least wealth. That is not a good recipe for long term stability.”

A New Political Model

According to Najib, the good track record of a ruling party can no longer guarantee that it would continue to remain in power.

He said a new political model might have to be introduced to ensure Umno continued to lead the nation.

“We not only need a New Economic Model, we might also need a New Political Model,” Najib, who is also Umno president, said the strategy of politics of development was no longer effective now.

“The reason why people are rejecting political parties that have contributed a lot over the years is because of parties that did not change. They are seen as rigid and not dynamic.”

Nevertheless, he said a new political model would not change the objectives of Umno’s struggle but instead in the methods employed to sustain its cause in the context of changes taking place all around.

“People are saying the environment has changed but the old methodology is still being used when it should be new environment, new methodology. Only then Umno will be seen as a party that is dynamic.”

– Bernama

18 Replies to “PM confounded by pro-opposition civil servants”

  1. If anyone ever had any doubts – or said in dubio pro – yesterday Najib has removed these:

    “I want to ask who were the ones who questioned Article 153 in the Constitution? Malay privileges; who questioned them? Who caused the incident of not offering prayers for the well-being of the king? Who wanted Universiti Teknologi Mara to be opened to the non-Malays. Not Umno, but the other side”.
    That says it all. So he silently stands behind the worst of misbehaviours. A fool who in future will believe the ‘openness’ of our PM (Article 153), the ‘progressiveness’ of allowing prayers for the CM, and – worst of all – believing in a one-ethnicity-only university.

    The icing on the cake:
    Furthermore, Najib said he could not understand why there were civil servants and government pensioners who preferred to support the opposition. [Bernama]
    “We have to look into this… this is not right.”
    It is not right?? So civil servants must by all means support the governing party??
    What is totally screwed up here is Najib’s understanding of democracy. It is allowing the people to support and vote for the government (only). Like in Iraq under Saddam, or in the USSR in the old days: elections were held, though it was made sure that the government would be endorsed by a large majority.

    Let’s face it, Najib’s speech was a slip of the tongue. He ponders a ‘New Political Model’ consisting of a dictatorship.
    Najib said the good track record of a ruling party was no longer a guarantee that that party would continue to remain in power. [Bernama]
    “a new political model might have to be introduced to ensure Umno continued to lead the nation.”
    Now, if this is not an open declaration of “the dictatorship is coming” and “the democratic process is dead”, there is none.

  2. Jib’s Animal Farm Rules and Regulations—

    1. All rakyat are equal, but the tuans are more equal than the mata sepets and kaki botois

    2. All rakyat especially civil servants must, repeat MUST, vote for BN or else…..

  3. To be baffled in the first place – that there are civil servants and government pensioners who preferred to support the opposition – proceeds on the assumption that civil servants, being paid by government, are naturally obligated to support the ruling party/coalition that forms the government. This attitude that loyalty to government of the day is synonymous to political loyalty to ruling party/coalition for the day is wrong and contradicting of the notion of civil service neutrality.

    Yet this ‘wrong’ attitude has been embraced since time memorial by majority of civil servants. They are a big constituency – all 1.3 million of them!

    As even against this prevailing bias mindset of civil servants in favour of the ruling party/coalition, there is now sufficient number of them veering towards the other side that sends “chairs flying, have members suffering broken arms, sprained limbs” – to the extent baffling to the PM- there must surely be something very wrong with and unsatisfactory of the ruling party/coalition.

    Which makes it imperative for ruling party/coalition to re-invent and come out with “new methodology” of a two pronged New Economic Model (a more market friendly approach away from the shackles of race based NEP) as well as New Political Mode (a pluralistic nuanced “1 Malaysia” with zero tolerance for racism).

    However when the No. 1 advocate of NEM & 1 Malaysia makes a political pitch for the 1.2-1.3 million civil servants votes, he again falls back on the well tried “old methodology” of appealing to race and religious considerations – for examples, blaming the Opposition for questioning Article 153 in the Constitution on Malay privileges, wanting Universiti Teknologi Mara to be opened to the non-Malays or causing “incident of not offering prayers for the well-being of the king” – a political pitch based on appeal of race and religion that runs squarely contradictory and opposed to the supposedly inclusive spirit of “1 Malaysia” reaffirmed again in the next breath by his statement that “at the same time, Umno must continue to be seen as a party that was principled and had consideration for others…”

    What is disconcerting is that the UMNO’s president’s statements vacillate between appeals based on race and religion and also based on the opposites of inclusiveness and plurality (as above illustrated).

    This dithering to and fro between race/religious appeal interspersed with appeal for inclusiveness and plurality (with ostensible zero tolerance for racial and religious extremism) all at the same time within his same talk without concern for internal consistencies raises the pertinent concern whether he is really committed to the “new or old methodology” or merely using whichever as is situationally expedient for getting votes of the particular audience depending on what they like to hear – and being not structured upon consistency of principle, one way or another, strikes at the heart of credibility and undermines his own exhortation that “Umno must continue to be seen as a party that was principled”.

  4. Najib must again be sleeping with the wrong lady…hearing all the wrong pillow talk…

    Almost 90% of academia in all our IPTAS and almost all of our doctors and nurses are voting opposition…..

    You can only fool the kampong folk and maybe running dogs in the MCA….UMNO is a goner…and for wasting our money with all those towers etc…..we will get you and Rosmah…will hunt you down just as Selangor govt is hunting Toyol and his wife down….no escape….its do or die for Malaysia…

  5. I am equally baffled why civil servants continue to support BN even though they know pretty well that most BN politicians, ( especially those from UMNO ) are more concerned with wealth aggrandizement than with serving the people. Just compare their wealth prior to joining politics and after they have quit politics. Most seem to have accumulated tremendous wealth.

  6. Najib as the PM exhibit a total failure to understand what is democracy

    civil servants are also citizens. citizens are entitled to vote according to their personal opinion

    civil servants owes nothing to temporary occupants of seats of power in Putrajaya. of they do their work in accordance to the proper procedures then their pay and pension is earned as per employment contract

    coming from an ex-DPM who once said MPs cannot vote according to their conscience, it is no surprise

    if this is not a blatant abuse of public service and blurring of division between national assets and political party affiliaion, i do not know what else it is…maybe this is why it has been in the interest BN-UMNO administration to create a lopsided composition in civil service

  7. One instance of this is when certain senior govt officers from Kelantan starts using his influence and office to recruit Kelantanese into the civil and technical service of govt departments. All they do during office hours is criticise the govt, even if the facts are absent, just plain emotional, one-sided, typical PAS mentality…they’ve been brainwashed far too long they don’t know how to think rationally. Not that the govt is always right but credit should be given where credit is due too.

  8. Many civil servants have been brainwashed by their seniors into thinking that BN is the Federal Government – forever. The first part is true, the second is not. That is because they (the KSUs and equivalent) are hoping for directorships in GLCs after retirement. Otherwise how are they going to maintain their lifestyle on about 1/3 of their pay (and minus the other “perks” of office). I remember one Air Force Chief telling his men to vote for the govt (meaning BN) because their salary comes from the govt!!

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