Getting a Whiff of Fear, Desperation and
Hypocrisy
Datuk
Seri Najib Tun Razak’s speech at the 2012 UMNO General Assembly was touted as
the most powerful to be delivered by the Prime Minister and President of UMNO. It was designed to rouse the members into
action and to win over fence-sitters in the forthcoming 13th General
Elections. However, strip off the
bravado and you can get a whiff of the unmistakable overpowering smell of fear,
desperation and hypocrisy that waft through the speech. The full text of the speech as reported by
Bernama can be read in Bahasa Malaysia by clicking this link http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/bm/newsindex.php?id=712458
and in English by clicking this link http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newspolitic.php?id=712554.
SMELL OF FEAR
The
smell of fear is real. Scientists have proven
that a person in fear releases pheromones which people can unconsciously
detect. Once the sound and fury of
Najib’s delivery and the pretentious swagger of false courage is removed, one
can smell in his speech at least three of Najib’s fears.
FEAR NO. 1
Najib
exposed his fear that UMNO has lost the peoples’ support when he referred to
the “very bitter experience” and “most painful in the political history of UMNO
and the Barisan Nasional” in the March 2008 12th General Elections. He acknowledged it was a clear signal to UMNO
and Barisan Nasional to change. By imploring UMNO members to persevere in
convincing the people
to the extent of knocking on the door of every heart and opening every gateway
of hope,
Najib admits, UMNO has to date failed to change. With less than 20 weeks before
Parliament dissolves on April 28th, 2013, this may be too little too
late.
FEAR NO. 2
Najib
glaringly exposed a second fear that UMNO is beset with internal dissent and
indiscipline by beseeching members to learn from the consequences of
indiscipline in the Battles of Badr and Uhud. He reprised this fear in his closing speech. It
is an open secret that Najib is having problems with UMNO warlords in the
selection of candidates and fears sabotage within its ranks. Najib
announced on October 20, 2012 that the UMNO Supreme Council had set up a
committee to monitor members who may sabotage and betray the party in the
coming general elections.
It
is ironic that Najib has used the Battles of Badr and Uhud as the example on
the need for discipline. This is because
I am informed, Muslim scholars have taught that the victory of the Muslim
forces that were outnumbered in the Battle of Badr and the defeat in the Battle
of Uhud where the forces were equal (but the archers had deserted their post in
the quest for booty), show that one can win against all the odds only when one
has faith and follow Allah’s guidance.
Failure to do so simply results in calamity and losses. The lesson of the Battles of Badr and Uhud is
that whatever happens, whether there is a miracle or not, all help proceeds
from Allah. Man should not be so
arrogant as to suppose that his own resources will change the current of
Allah’s world plan. This seems to have escaped Najib.
I
am informed by my Muslim friends that Najib would have done better by referring
to Verse (8:53 and 13:11) that “…Allah never changes the condition of any
people until they first change that which is in their hearts…”. Before
UMNO can change, their members must first do so. Najib failed to show this in
his speech.
FEAR NO. 3
Najib’s
third fear is that UMNO cannot rely on past achievements to win the forthcoming
general elections. The majority of the people are born after Malaysia Day, with
70% living in the urban areas, 40% of those aged 17 – 23 pursue various levels
of education, one fifth of the 13.1 million voters are new and therefore UMNO
cannot rely on pre-independence achievements and have to face a better informed
and critical electorate. He said that since over 95% of Malaysians are
born after UMNO’s formation they will not base their votes on UMNO’s past.
However, UMNO’s future is not encouraging with his exhortation that without
organizational discipline, UMNO will go down and will be defeated.
UMNO’s continued harping and spin on race, religion and royalty in the past 4
years have not endeared them to the better informed and critical thinking
voters.
SMELL OF DESPERATION
Like
the smell of fear, people can also detect the smell of desperation. Many a
parent will attest to the fact that when he or she is desperate in trying to
stop the baby from crying, the baby becomes more upset in sensing the parent’s
desperation. The desperation emanated by Najib must have been huge since not
just babies but grown men and women cried. This could be one explanation for
UMNO members weeping openly as he spoke. Najib in keeping to his motto that
desperate times call for desperate measures, made at least 3 desperate measures
in his speech.
DESPERATION NO. 1
In
a frantic attempt to report his accomplishments, Najib exaggerated and gave a misleading
impression of his achievements. Najib
said that he had succeeded in shielding Malaysia from the global economic
crisis, placed it back on the part of sustainable growth and got us out of the
middle income country trap.
Although
the economy has seen the reduction of exports being offset by a high domestic
consumption, Najib has not been able to shield those actually affected by the
global financial crisis. RHB Research
Institute reported on October 12, 2012 that due to the global economic
slowdown, manufacturers retrenched 4,609 workers in August and warned that
manufacturers would retrench more workers if the economic situation
deteriorates. The Edge in its 30th November 2012 edition reported
that the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (“FMM”) in its survey found 77%
of the respondents indicated that “things will get worse in Europe” and more
that 50% believe the economic conditions in the US, China and India will have a
negative impact on Malaysian manufacturers and exports. The business community,
exporters, manufacturers, the workers and their family and friends certainly do
not agree with Najib’s claim.
Najib
in claiming that the nation is out of the middle income trap has forgotten that
his own Performance Management and Delivery Unit (“Pemandu”) has said that in
order to achieve high-income status it will require the Gross National Income
(“GNI”) to grow at an annual real growth rate of 6% from 2011 to 2020. The
Ministry of Finance in the Economic Report 2012/2013 stated that the economy is
only expected to expand between 4.5% and 5% in 2012 and the forecast for GDP
growth in 2013 is also between 4.5% and 5.5%.
Since we have not met the 6% GNI growth,
we are still well and truly stuck in the middle income trap. Our low level
income is daily proof that Najib’s claim is made out of political desperation.
DESPERATION NO. 2
Najib
finding himself in dire straits to show one-upmanship over his nemesis attacked
Pakatan Rakyat’s Reform Programme in the Orange Book and Anwar Ibrahim’s performance
as Finance Minister during the Asian Financial Crisis.
Najib’s
desperate attempt is most unfortunate for him because in drawing the people’s
attention to their respective performances, the people will find Najib is far
behind Anwar. A simple comparison of the economic growth under Anwar Ibrahim
and Najib Tun Razak clearly shows that Anwar is a much better Finance Minister
and exposes Najib’s desperation.
Economic
Growth during the period of Anwar Ibrahim as Finance Minister
|
Year
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
Growth
%
|
8.8
|
9.9
|
9.2
|
9.8
|
10.0
|
7.3
|
Economic
Growth during the period of Najib Tun Razak as Finance Minister
|
Year
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
|
Growth
%
|
(1.5)
|
7.2
|
5.1
|
Comparison
of Surplus/Deficit Budget and Total National Debt
|
Year
|
1992
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
Surplus/Deficit
(%)
|
(0.8)
|
0.2
|
2.3
|
0.8
|
0.7
|
2.4
|
|
Total
National Debt (RM billion)
|
97
|
96
|
93
|
91
|
90
|
89
|
|
Year
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
|
Surplus/Deficit
(%)
|
(1.8)
|
(3.2)
|
(5.5)
|
(5.2)
|
(5.3)
|
(5.0)
|
|
Total
National Debt (RM billion)
|
103
|
112
|
126
|
146
|
165
|
189
|
|
Year
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
|
Surplus/Deficit
(%)
|
(4.1)
|
(3.4)
|
(3.2)
|
(3.1)
|
(4.6)
|
(6.7)
|
|
Total
National Debt (RM billion)
|
217
|
229
|
242
|
267
|
306
|
362
|
|
Year
|
2010
|
2011
|
|
Surplus/Deficit
(%)
|
(5.4)
|
(4.8)
|
|
Total
National Debt (RM billion)
|
407
|
456
|
The
record shows that Anwar Ibrahim accomplished surplus budgets for each of the
years he was Finance Minister whereas there have been 14 consecutive years of
budget deficit since his removal. The substantial increase of the National Debt
from RM306 billion in 2008 to RM456 billion in 2011 shows Najib’s inability to
rein in a galloping expenditure. It resulted in the government debt hitting
53.7% of GDP, just a whisker away from the ceiling for Government borrowing. These
deficit budgets were on top of an annual dividend of RM30 billion from Petronas
compared to only RM3.1 billion during Anwar’s tenure.
DESPERATION NO. 3
Najib’s
third desperate argument is the attempt to scare the people into believing that
the nation will be bankrupt in 3 years if Pakatan Rakyat is to form the
Government
and implements the programmes in the Orange Book. He called on the people not to gamble on the
future of the nation and their families
and to choose UMNO on the basis that UMNO can change.
Najib’s
rhetoric, sorry to say, is not that of a newly appointed Prime Minister, where
the electorate can only judge him on his promises and not performance. The
people have had 4 years to evaluate his performance. His much vaunted 1Malaysia
Transformation Programme stalled unashamedly after objections by Tun Mahathir
and Perkasa. Najib’s much used “national bankruptcy” bogey for Pakatan Rakyat
proposals pales in comparison to the warnings by Standard & Poor, Fitch
Ratings and IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, that Najib cannot delay
the critical structural and economic reforms the nation so badly needs. Najib
in the past 4 years has proven that neither he nor UMNO can change.
THE SMELL OF HYPOCRISY
Nothing
reeks stronger that the smell of hypocrisy and this abounds in Najib’s speech.
His
assurances that UMNO is committed to Article 11 of the Federal Constitution on
the freedom of religion rings hollow in the light of the cow-head stomping,
church burning, banning of the Catholic newspaper “The Herald” and prohibition
on the use of the word “Allah” by non- Muslims.
The difficulties encountered in obtaining approvals for non-Muslim places of
worship by the previous Barisan National state governments and the destruction
of Hindu temples are still fresh in the minds of Malaysians.
Najib’s
contention that UMNO will continue to champion the Malay and bumiputra agenda
while in the same breath saying that UMNO have never been complacent in
defending the rights and being fair to all races
is the height of mendacity. This is because this was said while Sharizat’s words
that there will be another May 13 if UMNO loses, was still reverberating in the
halls of the UMNO General Assembly. At least Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy
UMNO President, Muhyiddin Yassin, had the gumption to dismiss Sharizat’s remark
that racial clashes might be repeated if UMNO is weak. There was however, not a squeak from Najib in
his opening and closing speeches on this and by his silence he put paid to his
argument that UMNO champions racial fairness.
Further,
Najib’s failure to address revelations made outside the Putra World Trade
Center by putting on a mask of nonchalance also undermined his credibility. He
ought to have answered the revelations by his wife’s erstwhile friend, Deepak
Jaikishan, of the plot in getting PI Bala to recant his first statutory
declaration. He should have also answered the ex-IGP, Musa Hassan’s exposes of political
interference in police affairs. Finally, the refusal to allow the French
lawyers to brief the MPs in Parliament, the lack of cooperation by Malaysian
authorities to the French investigations on the Scorpene affair (which
according to SUARAM’s lawyers, Apoline Cagnat, Najib and Razak Baginda are
priority witnesses) and the persecution of SUARAM by various enforcement
agencies and authorities which is seen as an evidence to shut out SUARAM from
proceeding with the French proceedings, all served to cast Najib’s speech in an
insidious Machiavellian light.
CONCLUSION
Far
from inspiring his troops and the fence-sitters, Najib’s speech exposed UMNO’s
fractiousness, inability to change and that the people is better off, to paraphrase
Tun Mahathir’s famous words in choosing Pakatan Rakyat, the angel they may not
know than UMNO, the devil they know.
William
Leong Jee Keen
3rd
December 2012
