Datuk Seri Najib Razak said last Saturday that he knew when to see the Yang di Pertuan Agong to ask for the dissolution of Parliament and there is no need to “jolok” (pester) him on when the 13th general elections will be held.
It is not the Prime Minister who is being “jolok” about the dissolution of Parliament, but 28 million Malaysians who had been “jolok” by Najib in the past two years to be on “13GE mode” – all because Najib is the most indecisive, hesitant and flip-flop Prime Minister in Malaysian history.
Already, Najib has established two dubious political records as Prime Minister.
The question is whether he would establish another two more dubious political records by the time the 13GE is finally held.
Najib is already the longest Prime Minister without an elected mandate of his own – close to three years and10 months, longer than four Prime Ministers before him, namely Tun Abdullah, Tun Mahathir, Tun Hussein and his father Tun Razak before they sought a mandate of their own after taking over the mantle of premiership.
Najib has also established a second dubious record as PM – with the Parliament during his term serving out its longest tenure. The last general elections of the “political tsunami” fame was held on 8th March 2008, which is one month and three days away from its 5th anniversary.
It is generally thought that Parliament must be dissolved five years after the previous general elections, i.e. “308” of 2008 for the current 12th Parliament.
But this is not the case, as under the Constitution, Parliament’s five-year tenure is calculated from the date of its first meeting, i.e. on April 28, 2008 and not from the previous polling date of March 8, 2008. This means that the five-year life of the present 12th Parliament will only end on April 27, 2013, when Parliament will stand automatically dissolved with general elections to be held within 60 days without the need for the Prime Minister to meet the Yang di Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament.
Will Najib set a third dubious record – with the 12th Parliament exceeding its five-year natural term beyond March 8, 2013, having to rely on the constitutional definition of Parliament’s five-year tenure, which would make this the first time in Parliament history in 55 years!
But it is the fourth dubious record which is haunting and hounding Najib – whether he would be first Barisan Nasional to lose power in the general elections to become the last UMNO Prime Minister in Malaysian electoral history.
The 13GE, however, should not be about Najib or even UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s political future. It should be about the future of the Malaysian nation and that of 28 million Malaysians half a century after Merdeka.
Najib’s invitation of South Korean superstar Psy to Penang to perform his global hit Gangnam Style on the second day of Chinese New Year should drive home this point to all Malaysians.
Fifty years ago, when South Korea was much poorer and more backward than Malaysia, it is completely unthinkable that there could be a South Korean superstar who could be received as a national and global sensation in Malaysia, just as today, it is just unimaginable that a Malaysian could be a superstar whose performance in South Korea would be a national and global phenomenon as to take South Korea by storm.
What went wrong in the past half a century, that the tables were turned so dramatically and definitively between Malaysia and South Korea.
The magnitude of the change of fortunes between Malaysia and South Korea could be plotted from the data of GDP per capita data for the two countries for the past half a century from World Bank and International Monetary Fund data bases, viz:
GDP Per Capita (in US dollars)
| Year | Malaysia | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 299 | 155 |
| 1970 | 392 | 279 |
| 1980 | 1,769 | 1,689 |
| 1990 | 2,374 | 6,308 |
| 2000 | 3,992 | 11,347 |
| 2010 | 8,737 | 20,540 |
| 2012 | 10,578 | 23,021 |
In the half century from 1960 to 2012, Malaysia’s GDP per capita increased by 35-fold, which is chickenfeed compared to the 148.5-fold increase of South Korea’s GDP per capita during the period.
Psy’s performance of Gangnam Style in Penang on the second day of Chinese New Year will be a real contribution to and even a game-changer for Malaysia’s national transformation if it can cause more and more Malaysians to search answers to the critical question – how South Korea could transform in half a century from a poorer and more backward country than Malaysia into a country which is two to three richer than Malaysia and more accomplished and successful in almost all fields of human endeavour, and to apply the formula for Malaysia’s “Second Merdeka”.
This should be what the 13GE is all about – how Malaysia can stop the national rot, stop the widening gap between Malaysia and South Korea, and start the painful, arduous and challenging process to catch up with South Korea’s economic progress and match its accomplishments in all fields of human endeavour.
The opposition is more concern about the electoral roll and checking on the expected abuses of the GE than they are with when its going to happen. So who is the one doing the ‘jolok’-ing? Its likely that only UMNO/BN people themselves are anxious about the GE dates.
And why would they consider how they are even making their own fiasco without much help from the opposition like the ‘Psy’ event AND complaining about ILLEGAL IDOLTRY of Najib in Muslim Malaysia.
They are even pretty bad at salvaging these ‘fiasco’ EVEN before they actually happen fully like using ‘private funding’ excuse that bombed before like Ali Rustam’s wedding and using long-track record of poor-excuse making ‘Malay First’ DPM.
Isn’t it interesting that until Mahathir, we were doing pretty well vis-a-vis with South Korea and that if you compare with South Korea actually fared much worst than our neigbouring Singapore even then…Imagined…
The elections are near but is PR and especially the DAP ready? We keep hearing Anwar saying they are ready but really, how ready?
Are you all ready to be wiped out by phantoms and instant citizens and lop-sided seats allocations and weightage?
You all face an uphill task as the BN, as the incumbent, has all the money and resources behind them. Unless you all can make a significant breakthrough, you will still lose the elections by unfair means.
How many seats can the DAP expect to win? 30? You have most probably reached your maximum the last time. If you win some more seats, it won’t be many as I can’t see you all winning 40 or 50 seats. So you will remain stunted and play second or third fiddle.
So don’t hurry the elections when you might not be able to make significant headway. Anyway it is abit too late now for you.
Many of you will be retired off after the 13th GE as you can’t beat back time.
Incidentally, Parliament will be dissolved very, very soon and I hear polling date has been determined to be ….. March 8, 2013.
Najib wants to take you all on.
1Malaysia vs South Korea.
One needs crutches and the other is
healthy and free. Thats the difference.
1Malaysia vs South Korea.
One needs permanent crutches while the other is healthy and free. Thats the difference.
Najib, PM celup.
So Najib has to re-tire.
What a way to divert attention!!!!
Najib is a desperate copy cat squeezing the last minutes to follow project M Mahathir’s style to “make” more “Maggi Malays” from foreigners in exchange for votes.
More and more dubious voters showing up on the electoral rolls nation wide?
What can the Rakyat do about it???
Malaysian Defence spending.
Zahid scored “D” by TI-UK.
D for donkey.
D for Daft
D for Dirty.
Next time, score “A” – A for Altantuya.
LKS is using old style tactic to pressure DS Najib…don’t think it’s necessarily a good idea to coerce people…just wondering when he is going resign from politic…
Probably he forgot one important fact about Penang …
1. Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee was born on 7-10-1911 at 118, Straight Street, Bukit Mertajam,Penang
2. Tun Lim Chong Yew was born in 1919 in Penang
3. Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon (born August 26, 1949 in Penang
The forth CM is an outsider…Penang got so many caliber leaders…why must DAP import from other state? Even the state where he was born rejected him…
UMNO would want another Koh “Lost” “Sleep” , a lembak kaki / tokok, no action / yes man / an umno rationaliser at Penang state expense / and sooner or later become MaMaK Kutty – UMNO – Ah C 4, bola-bola ( balls ) polisher and carrier !
Same, UMNO very glad to have CSL for MCA as he is on their dog-leash to be very obedience / tame as he is for his very own survival at stake, like Ah C 4 ! ( anytime CSL oral act on video can be thrown at him , anyway he works for it to be this way )
So, CM of Penang can be from any states as long as he is of caliber to the well being of PENANG .
Defintely, not another on UMNO leash or their balls polisher and carrier . U dig, CN ?
Najib knows BN can not win this time, so might as well finish the 5 years term lah, this is his best choice.
Spend and spend like hell, PR must be very careful, a lot of debt to be serviced after PRU13. And this is why Malaysian must change, have to change this time.
Ubah we have to.
So the dire RAHMAN prediction makes Najib the last UMNO Prime Minister! But wait, this useless party may have nine lives by the continuation, “RAHMANINOFF” (Western-music fans are familiar with this name, which is, here, spelt with poetic licence). That makes Ibrahim Ali the next PM from this corrupt party.
Hey, Just joking.
Be it the 4th CM of Penang an outsider is immaterial. What matters is, he is first and foremost a MALAYSIAN, elected CM of, by and for the Penangites who are also Malaysians. Can we say this much for Tan Sri KTK who, for most of the time, had his head buried in sand?
Penangites will continue to vote against the UMNO/BN government and that party with the name cintanegera with it.