It is not only ironic but simply unbelievable that on the night of KL112, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak could host the Umno general assembly 2012 Media Appreciation Night and speak about the importance of the media to UMNO.
Rational and independent-minded Malaysians, including the four million middle-ground voters who will decide whether it is Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat which will form the federal government in Putrajaya in the 13th general elections, must be asking whether Najib is rooted firmly to the ground in reality or is living in a make-believe world of his own.
What Najib said about the media a few hours after the KL112, which marked an important turning point in a maturing democracy, is simply surreal.
How could Najib with a straight face urge the media to play the role of an intermediary that delivers the feelings and aspirations of the people to the government and which report the grievances and criticisms leveled at the government to enable improvements to be carried out when the Barisan Nasional mainstream media, whether print, radio, television or online, have been most guilty of the very opposite, completely unrepentant in fabricating and purveying lies after lies about the Pakatan Rakyat?
For weeks, the Barisan Nasional mainstream media had told a “Big Lie” about KL112 and they are still purveying the “Big Lie” after KL112, although the “Big Lie” had been completely pulverized and demolished as baseless and untrue!
There can be no doubt that one of the greatest losers of the successful and peaceful holding of KL112 is the Barisan Nasional mainstream media (MSM), which is why Malaysiakini in its roundup “KL112: Winners and losers” listed the mainstream media as one of the three “losers” after the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO/Barisan Nasional while The Malaysian Insider carried an editorial entitled: “Mainstream media’s epic fail”.
Although Najib deserves plaudit for not allowing the UMNO/BN and police hardliners to sabotage the KL112 and suffer public odium as happened in Bersih 2.0 and Bersih 3.0 rallies, he has not been able to project an image of a strong, serious and effective Prime Minister committed to the various transformation programmes announced in his name – many thanks to a persistently dishonest, unprofessional and lying BN mainstream media!
It is also thanks to a persistently dishonest, unprofessional and lying BN mainstream media that a recent Merdeka Centre opinion poll in the last fortnight of December found that Najib’s popularity rating has dropped to the lowest level for the whole year – 63% in December 2012 as compared to 69% in February 2012 – while only 52 per cent of voters say that the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest since May 2010.
The former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, had better poll ratings before the March 2008 general elections than Najib on the eve of the 13th general elections but that did not save the Abdullah premiership.
Abdullah’s popularity rating plunged from a high of 91% after the 2004 general election to 61% in December 2007 (which is still higher than Najib’s popularity rating of 52% in December 2012) while 63% of the voters felt that the country was heading in the right direction in December 2007 ( as compared to 52% under Najib in December 2012).
Although Najib’s approval rating has plunged to the lowest for the whole of last year, Merdeka Centre also reported that the level of dissatisfaction has reached the highest level in Najib’s four-year premiership, at 30% as compared to 28% in October 2012 and 16% in May 2009.
Also noteworthy is Merdeka Centre’s finding that while Najib’s approval rating has slid to 63 percent, his administration and Barisan Nasional has trailed further behind at 47 per cent and 45 per cent respectively.
With Najib securing lower ratings on both scores than Abdullah just before the 2008 general elections, whether popularity rating as Prime Minister or voters’ perception whether the country is heading in the right direction, it is no surprise that there are UMNO leaders who are very pessimistic about UMNO/BN prospects in the 13GE , with even the Johore Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ghani Othman publicly predicting that Pakatan Rakyat could win the 13GE with a slim majority of 5% to 10% of the parliamentary seats – i.e. a Pakatan Rakyat majority from 12-22 seats!
If this Ghani scenario comes about, one cause could be the total lack of public trust and credibility of the Barisan Nasional mainstream media, which is a standing proof to all Malaysians, and in particular the four million middle-ground voters, of the irredeemable character of UMNO/BN as totally incapable of reform unless it is despatched to the Opposition benches in Parliament.
The persistently dishonest, unprofessional and lying Barisan Nasional mainstream media may prove to be the final undoing of Najib as Prime Minister and the ousting of UMNO/BN from Putrajaya in the 13GE.
Najib missed the window of opportunity when he could have called for the 13th GE last year. The longer he delays the GE the more the rakyat would get bored at his administration which is characterized by slow reform, flip-flopping decision making and extravagant spending.
So KL112 was very much an incident-free party. And that proves several points:
(1) All the past rallies could have been equally peaceful but for the umno-directed police actions to instigate/provoke unruly crowd behaviour.
(2) We the common ppl of malaysia are not a violent bunch. We are peace loving and law abiding ppl.
(3) We hv no intention to overthrow umno by violent means. We just want to do it constitutionally and fairly and legally through the ballot box.
(4) The may 13 ghost quite obviously prefers to haunt umno only.
(5) We mean business with our ABU proclamation.
And yes, the msm in instrumental in burying the umno gobermen six ft under.
That the MSM is staying with their script is no surprise. What is surreal is watching Najib sticking with his script on the same weekend with the Indians. It makes the earliest predictor of his failures almost clairvoyant – Nero fiddle while Rome burns..
It reminds me of what I read about Marcos in his final years – reports suggest he knew he was leading the nation to abyss but for a lack of ideas he kept doing the same thing over and over again, while those around him had no clue and just kept doing the sycophantic things they were accustomed to doing and made things worst..
Truth is UMNO/BN is too sycophantic an organisation to afford a weak leadership like Najib given the urgency of the coming GE. With most part of the organisation unable to contribute anything different from the top, if the top gets it wrong, it just gets worst down on the ground..
It is sad, the Malay established leadership again fail them when their history is replete with them. Their saving grace is that they are big enough of part of the global community of democratic ideals that renewable is possible for them. Hence, its clear, there is no alternative for the Malays but to seek renewal – with PR..
Will BN ever learn the lesson?
Police open probe into violations by KL 112 organisers
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/police-open-probe-into-violations-by-kl-112-organisers/
The mainstream media is trying to cover the sun with a BN umbrella.
Every single person I have been meeting since Saturday is fully aware of the 150,000 strong rally at Stadium Merdeka.
So who is the media trying to fool?
While U R patting yourself on d back, pornoSnake n his band of snakes all BIG SMILE in 2day’s msm walloping PAS, DAP, n PKR over d new rulings in Kedah 4 stage performances during LNY
PornoSnake veri happi n buoyant spirits cos d Year of d SNAKE is coming – Snake is good 4 pornoSnake in GE13
Eternal state of denial.That will be the final undoing of anyone! Let alone a government and it’s leader. Let them dream! We will achieve OUR dream. Always this persistent comparision on PR’s 5 years to BN’s 55 years. Shameful!!!The rest are obviously living the life of the least effort through BN’s NEP, ETP and what not schemes and plans! Let these dream on and remain the jaguh kampungs they aspire to be.
UMNO digs a hole and PAS fell into it. Sigh!
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/218843
Don’t argue about a word, speak with your deeds! Mere words are dead, actions speak louder than words!!!
The MSM & BN will have a field day.
I went to preach in an Protestant Christian Amenian church, one of the church leaders prayed in their native language and the only word I could understand was “ALLAH” which is God, the very same word also being used by the Malay Bible.
We need to climb out of our well to see that the sky is much wider than we thought before we are made an international laughing stock!!!
Najib, cover your head with blanket, carpet, burried under ground, still it can’t shake the fact!.
It is your decision to make, either handle the facts or find some carpets from Deepak to cover it up.
150,000+ were at the stadium, dare the blaze of January sun. TO GET BN REPLACED!… Either you see reason to change or not, doesn’t matter anymore! We don’t see a reason for BN to stay.
These are 150,000+, who would give and volunteer, do you know how substential force out of these?
You need to burried your head deeper to get it properly isolated.
To answer the Bishop, if we shake down PM’s rhetoric, we get 150,00+ at stadium…
Not just the 150,000 crowd. I mean it surely wasnt just a plain number. Imagine the roar they sounded in the heart of the city.
What an announcement that: RAKYAT IS HERE!
Tunku Aziz is trying hard to help Najib. Lets see what he will come out this time.
///The home minister today appeared to blame the chaos during last year’s Bersih rally on the organisers’ refusal to accept the government’s offer to hold it in a stadium instead. Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today was asked to comment on last Saturday’s mega-rally that was organised by the federal opposition Pakatan .///–MalaysianInsider
Because Bersih rejected Police’s offer, the police had no choice but to create situation resulting in the chaos. Kerismuddin has always revealed the truth in a funny way.
Hopeless MSM but is not unexpected or a surprise at all. It already has no consequences as internet access/usage has become a means/norm for the M’sian public for verification or rather already has taken over MSM functions.
Maybe, still able to hoodwink the kampong folks or for propaganda purpose, etc.
PR HAS TO THINK OUT THE BOX to counter the
malice post by UMNO/bn MSM.
This Tengku Aziz guy is insulting himself when he talked through the wrong channel! I used to think highly of his so-called principle, indeed there was none. He liked to appear above board but behind this mask, a man who is miserable for having missed his “opportunities” in his adult life! Now in his twilight he seems even more remorseful of his earlier missed opportunity and hence he will put the blame on DAP for misleading him! Well how much time do you have?