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Najib’s concern must be for real

Jeswan Kaur | March 25, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Indulging in corruption, cronyism and nepotism is not what a leader who “listens” to his people does.

COMMENT

Trusting a politician is the hardest thing to do; the risk is not just worth it. So when Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak says he will listen to the rakyat in choosing candidates for the 13th general election, it is too good an assurance to hang on to.

Is it not Najib who keeps “cautioning” the people that he wants “winnable” candidates to contest in the looming GE? How then does the rakyat’s choice make a difference to him?

In his March 22 interview with DJs Sam Mak and Tan Yi Hui in the one-hour 988 Street VIP programme of the 988 FM radio station, Najib said he would have to listen to the people when it comes to choosing candidates for the next general election.

“It is only right as a leader. I should listen to the people. So, therefore, I will make a decision that his or her time is up and should not stand as a candidate anymore,” were the premier’s words.

Najib is very right that he “must” listen to the rakyat, which he has not been doing. Indulging in corruption, cronyism and nepotism is not what a leader who “listens” to his people does.

What should the rakyat make of a leader like Najib who chooses a corrupt politician to helm the Federal Land Development Authority or Felda.

Everyone is aware of the money politics that Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad, the former Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan indulged in, which resulted in Mohamed Isa being stripped of his Umno vice-presidency by the Umno discplinary board in 2005. His six-year suspension however was commuted to three years upon appeal and ended on 23 June 2008.

Still, Najib found Isa a befitting candidate to contest in the Bagan Pinang by-electionin 2009. Was Najib then “listening” to the rakyat?

If that was not disastrous enough, Isa who won the Bagan Pinang by-election was “rewarded” and made the chairperson of Felda in 2011. So much so that National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) member Datuk Dr Zainal Aznam Mohd Yusof remarked that Mohamed Isa’s appointment to head Felda was a sad episode that caused uncertainty in the market.

According to the late Dr Zainal Aznam, the former Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar’s poor track record and involvement in money politics involving Umno back in 2005 were cause for concern.

Najib refuses to learn lessons

However, taking cognisance over his “misdemeanours” is not Najib’s forte. Otherwise, why would the premier dare give his “buddy” and former special officer Omar Mustapha Ong a free hand in the controversial move to list Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH).

The proposal to list FGVH has not gone down well with the Felda settlers and stakeholders and Najib has made no effort to clear the fiasco.

As far as the settlers are concerned, they see the listing as Putrajaya’s way of forcing Kooperasi Permodalan Felda’s consent with regard to the move.

The highway scandal

Then there is the scandal surrounding the Kidex (Kinrara-Damansara Expressway) RM2.2 billion concession which was awarded to Umno-linked firms “as a reward for Perak’s fall”?

Why is Najib silent when asked by ousted Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin and his Pakatan Rakyat colleagues to clarify the BN government’s basis for awarding the highway deal to companies owned by Umno lawyer Hafarizam Harun and the wife of former Chief Justice Zaki Azmi.

The companies in question are Emrail Sdn Bhd and Zabima Engineering Sdn Bhd. Hafarizam is a director in both firms while Zaki’s wife, Nik Sazlina Mohd Zain is a director in Emrail.

“Why such a disproportionate sum? How can a highway of 50km cost RM2.2 billion and then the Banting-Taiping highway, which was initially supposed to be RM3 billion, costs RM7.07 billion for a much longer distance,” Nizar, who was formerly Perak Mentri Besar, told the media early this month.

“So where can they rationalise the award here… if you talk about per kilometre, there is a lot of difference between the two highways,” Nizar queried.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin however insisted that the Kidex contract was awarded to only the most “qualified” companies and rubbished claims that it was due to political reasons.

Nizar had rubbished Muhyiddin’s claim, saying: “But if DPM says the companies are qualified, have good track records and all that, then explain why the costing seems completely out of tune.”

“Explain if the highway was awarded as a reward for Perak’s fall.”

The Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers also dismissed Muhyiddin’s claim that the two firms were selected based on merit, pointing out that the deputy prime minister had still failed to disclose if the project had been awarded via open tender or direct negotiation.

Perak fell to Pakatan in the 2008 GE but was recaptured by BN during a year-long constitutional impasse that ensued when three Pakatan lawmakers left their parties to become BN-friendly independents.

Najib’s concern not for real

What the premier is doing is to balm the unhappiness Malaysians have over the many issues the Barisan Nasional government under Najib’s leadership refuses to show concern.

The BN government has no interest in arresting the problem of deaths taking place while in police custody. The call to put in place the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission has received no favourable attention from the federal government.

The issue of racial disharmony too has not been tackled by Najib. His leniency with Perkasa, an organisation set up with the sole agenda of safeguarding Malay rights and privileges and exterminating the non-Malays of this country is proof of the premier’s lack of sincerity in ensuring peace and tranquility between the rakyat is always at an all-time high.

To conveniently “use” the people in an attempt to boost his popularity is not going to place premier Najib in their “good books”.

Dismissing the rakyat’s concern over the nation’s manipulated elections and instead killing off entities like the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih 2.0 which is demanding reforms to the electoral system fails to portray Najib as a “people’s” leader.

There are just one too many instances of the rakyat having had enough of the BN-government’s machiaevellian ways. When in July 2009 an opposition political aide, Teoh Beng Hock was found dead hours after a gruelling interrogation at the hands of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, all that was possibly possible was done to hush-up to prevent the truth from being revealed.

So afraid was Najib that he unwittingly “exposed” himself when he chose to ignore names suggested to him by Teoh’s family to sit on the Royal Commission of Inquiry panel.

One of the names was that of Ambiga Sreenevasan, the former Malaysian Bar president and who is also chairperson of Bersih 2.0 and an award winning lawyer, her activism lauded by Michelle Obama, the First Lady of America and by the French government which honoured Ambiga with the Legion of Honour in September last year, acknowledging her contributions to human rights defense.

But to the BN leadership, Ambiga’s fight for a clean and fair election is a threat, her resolute to stand up for the tenets of democracy lost on the party and its “top guns” Najib and deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

With so much public resentment against BN and its leadership and the continuous politicking undertaken by the leaders, the rakyat has to seriously ponder where does the hidden-agenda behind Najib’s “People First, Performance Now” lie.

21 Replies to “Najib’s concern must be for real”

  1. Indulging in shopping-spree with one’s wife at the expense of the nation is also not what a leader who “listens” to his people does.

    Indulging in self-making money scheme through military defence procurement in the name of national security is also not what a leader who “listen” to his people does.

    Indulging in character assasination and cooked-up sex story on one’s opponent is also not what a leader who “listen” to his people does.

    So on and so on more or less disgusting elements where you can easily find them in Ah Cheat kor.

  2. Trusting a politician is the easiest thing to do.
    It all depends on which party the politician is from.
    If it’s from UMNO/BN, you can decide straight away none of them are trustworthy!!
    The remark, “Tell me, which Umno leader does not have problem?” says it all!
    And these problems are not small scale ones!!
    They are gargantuan!!!
    None of them are fit for GE candidature.
    Just close shop and let PR take over!!!!
    No need to for them to worry about fielding winnable candidate.

  3. When Ah Jib Gor says he wants “winnable” candidates to contest in the looming GE, this is obvious as surely he will not nominate a candidate to contest under BN’s banner to lose. When he says that he would consult rakyat’s choice it is obvious that “rakyat” does not refer to preference of Malaysians as a whole but the rakyat of the particular constituency of that candidate nominated as winnable one. Now although Isa was suspended in 2005 for money politics which ended on 23 June 2008 he did win Bagan Pinang by-election by 8,013 votes with an overwhelming majority over PAS candidate Zulkefly Mohamad Omar. So Isa notwithstanding a tainted money politics record did win big over the PAS candidate with record of piety. If that’s rakyat choice in Bagan Pinang, what’s the problem? It’s the people’s will and Isa is a winnable candidate, isn’t it (from Ah Jib Gor’s perspective)? Chuah Soi Lek also carries baggage of sex scandal but he is also winnable candidate: he even won the contest for MCA party president. Democracy is people’s will: they like and vote someone tainted with money politics or sex scandal, so these are winnable candidates, aren’t they? Can Ah Jib Gor’s definition of “winnable” candidate be faulted? It is ever true people will get the government they deserve.

  5. ///After the rally organised by the United Chinese School Committees Association (Dong Zong) ended, an angry swarm of people chanted for him (Wee Ka Siong) to resign and it was alleged someone attempted to land a punch on his body but was prevented by a large security detail.

    “I can’t say I felt threatened but it was a rude shock to me,” he said in a press conference at a nearby hotel half a kilometre away from the hostile crowd.

    “Suddenly people come and point at you and want to punch you. I am saddened. We are not hooligans. We are a civilised society.”

    The deputy minister from MCA also suggested that the crowd was instigated by unidentified parties. ///–MalaysiaToday

    If the crowd can be instigated against MCA minister, then MCA cannot hope to get any vote from Chinese. The way Wee was treated had actually been quite civil based on how people perceived about him. He should have been dealt the hooligan ways.

  6. Granted that there are those who, maybe for masochistic reasons or monetary ones, keep voting for the corrupted and scandalous, the balance of probability is that, according to the scheme of things, good people outnumbers the bad!
    Fighting for change against an embedded incumbent is not easy.
    The trick here is to approach those who have been wronged and get them to spread the word, as wide and far as possible, about the incidents that have occurred to convince others to rethink about voting for the party causing the problem.
    This is the best way to modify the thinking of the people around those who are affected.
    Next, show the electorate how the wealth of the country has been depleted by all sorts of deceitful ways and the resulting drop in the standard of living of the people in spite of the varied and plentiful natural resources of the country.
    In this respect, the pending implementation of health care like 1Care (a misnomer?) and others to milk the citizens further will also be a factor to influence the voters to go for change.
    In fact, the scams that happened over the years to deplete the nation’s wealth and a consequent fall in the standard of living of the people is another factor to take into consideration.
    In fact, the PR has a whole armamentarium to change the minds of the people.
    Hopefully, they are already on the trail!!

  8. SHAME, SHAME 2 us rakyat 4 allowing ourselves 2 b governed by UmnoB/BN
    SHAME, SHAME 2 us rakyat, d BOSS, 4 electing such incompetent, corrupt SERVANTs
    Just look at ah CHEAT kor – What positive governance has he brought 2 dis nation in recent months? Just busy abusing d system going round d nation BRIBING voters
    High time rakyat/voters act as d BOSS n kick UmnoB/BN out

  9. With apologies to the Kookaburra bird from Australia–

    K_oo k_oo j~iao sits in the old gum tree
    Merry, merry king of the bush is he
    Laugh, K_oo k_oo j~iao! Laugh, K_oo k_oo j~iao!
    Gay your life must be

    K_oo k_oo j~iao sits in the old gum tree
    Eating all the gum drops he can see
    Stop, K_oo k_oo j~iao! Stop, K_oo k_oo j~iao!
    Leave some there for me

    K_oo k_oo j~iao sits in the old gum tree
    Counting all the monkeys he can see
    Stop, K_oo k_oo j~iao! Stop, K_oo k_oo j~iao!
    That’s not a monkey, that’s me!

  11. Leaked 2012 SPM Sejarah essay question–

    Explain in detail how and why the deputy education minister from mca was punched in the face when he attended the United Chinese School Committee’s Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) gathering.

  13. The problem is NOT that Najib’s concern is not real, the problem is what those concerns are. Go back his entire life and you see someone brought up to believe Narcissism is an entitlement of his kind (UMNOputras). He can be concern with others but NOT if it threatens his own or real substantial sacrifice of his ill-gotten gains. Mahathirism taught a generation of UMNOputras that so well, they don’t do much else.

  14. Jib is speaking the truth and he is walking the talk. You see, there is something you ppl hv to understand. To umno, malaysia is umno and umno is malaysia. This is very basic. Umno’s needs is malaysia’s needs and vice versa. So for jib, listening to the ppl must therefore mean listening to umnoputras. The wants and demands of umnoputras will be taken as the wants and demands of the ppl in the country. When wanita umno clarified that wanita too deserves corruption, jib being the good leader that he is, endorses it. Simple.

    Jib Jib Boleh.
    And oh how could I forget this.
    Ros Ros Cantik!!

  17. This is the most the biggest liar we have amongst all PMs.
    He is simply a born liar…or master the art of lying to fool who??…his own race.
    Concerning corruptions..cronyism…nepotism…it’s their way of life..too deeply rooted.
    You want all to be revealed??…voters must change the government.

  18. Najib has no choice.
    He has to be the biggest flip flopper…..liar …instigator..provocator..and what have you to add in…for the love of his life and Rosmah.
    Look at the current issue on AG and IGP…with so many willing to come out and as witnesses…yet he said.. no evidence..no case.
    Are we not… all sick of Najib’s flip flopping?

  20. Kasiong got boooooooed big time yesterday. And he did not seem to notice the rejection by the ppl. That is so sad. That is so umno. Simply too arrogant to see the writings on all walls. Or is he simply too concerned about (or maybe too blinded by) wealth ala umno style to bother with his duties and the trust ppl placed in mca for so long in the past. Keep on smiling and be happy. That must be mca’s trick. The ppl could have shooooed him out like a dog. Then again a dog deserves far better treatment than kasiong. So on second thought, the ppl should hv shooed him away with brooms. Treat him like “little ppl”.

  21. “For the last 30 to 40 years the problem has remained unresolved Therefore it can only be concluded that the ministry does not intend to settle the problem not because of lack of ability but because of lack of will ”.

    Any 3-year-old kid knows how to solve the problem. Lack of 1,482 Chinese-language teachers? Then get the numerous teachers’ colleges to train 1,482 trainees with SPM Mandarin qualifications. Kasiong, stop playing with your wee-wee and follow the 3-year-old kid’s advice on how to solve the problem. And let the 3-year-old kid take over your place as deputy minister

    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ka-siong-ill-quit-if-that-solves-chinese-teacher-shortage/

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