With Thanks Judge Wenger Khairy
In September 1998, the Barisan Nasional Government faced a triple whammy. Dr Mahathir Mohammad, Prime Minister of Malaysia had sacked his popular Deputy prompting riots and demonstrations in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the economy was in a severe recession -GDP having contracted by 8% and the KLSE was down by a record 80% . All around the region strongman leaders were being deposed as the Asian Financial Crisis claimed its political victims. Pundits were sure Dr Mahathir would be the next to fall.
However, in great tribute to the fast thinking nature of the then Prime Minister, the Parliament was dissolved almost a year later and elections were called. The result - a resounding success for Dr Mahathir who managed to retain his Government's 2/3rds majority in the face of one of the most hostile election environments in decades.
Fast forward 13 years ahead. The Malaysian economy is sluggishly moving along, but from a far loftier position than the depths of the Asian Financial Crisis. The KLSE is an all time high. But in-spite of that, the Prime Minister's position looks far shakier than it did when Dr Mahathir was in charge.
The reason has to do with the leadership style of the current Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Razak. Dato Seri Najib has surrounded himself with a courtier of advisors, with several competing agendas. The result has been a series of policy flip flops and a great disconnection between how the PM's media unit tries to present him - as a transformationalist but is perceived as somewhat tyrannical on the ground. In fact, I suppose the PM himself is confused as to who he really is - is he on one hand the leader calling on all Malaysians to join in the spirit of unity to achieve the lofty ambition of a high income nation by 2020 or the traditionalist Malay warrior exhorting the Silat exponents to stand in as the nations line of defense against political opponents?
This is the great contrast between Najib and Dr Mahathir. Everybody, from his supporters to his opponents could define Dr Mahathir clearly in several words. "Independent minded, strong willed, anti-West and willing to sock it to his opponents - both within and outside the country." Or dicator if you were his opponent. The descriptions are one and the same, and are completely congruent with the way Dr Mahathir styled his leadership.
With Najib - people are confused to no end. This confusion is felt right across the political spectrum, from the warlords, the MPs, the ADUNs, component party leaders, UMNO members, component party members, the media, cybertroopers and lastly the rakyat.
Nobody knows what the PM's exact stand is. To make things worse, Najib's advisers co-opted Dato Ibrahim Ali in order to pursue a strange two pronged strategy where the PM focuses on transformation and Perkasa focuses on intimidation. And guess what, even Ibrahim Ali himself was confused - what exactly does the Prime Minister want.
Ibrahim Ali blasted the PM "one day they ban the demo, the other day they can use the stadium, first its stadium Merdeka, then Stadium Shah Alam. .".
This puts the PM in great risk. If there is one characteristic that is sure to engender his eventual removal as President of UMNO is that he is not his own man.
However, in great tribute to the fast thinking nature of the then Prime Minister, the Parliament was dissolved almost a year later and elections were called. The result - a resounding success for Dr Mahathir who managed to retain his Government's 2/3rds majority in the face of one of the most hostile election environments in decades.
Fast forward 13 years ahead. The Malaysian economy is sluggishly moving along, but from a far loftier position than the depths of the Asian Financial Crisis. The KLSE is an all time high. But in-spite of that, the Prime Minister's position looks far shakier than it did when Dr Mahathir was in charge.
The reason has to do with the leadership style of the current Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Razak. Dato Seri Najib has surrounded himself with a courtier of advisors, with several competing agendas. The result has been a series of policy flip flops and a great disconnection between how the PM's media unit tries to present him - as a transformationalist but is perceived as somewhat tyrannical on the ground. In fact, I suppose the PM himself is confused as to who he really is - is he on one hand the leader calling on all Malaysians to join in the spirit of unity to achieve the lofty ambition of a high income nation by 2020 or the traditionalist Malay warrior exhorting the Silat exponents to stand in as the nations line of defense against political opponents?
This is the great contrast between Najib and Dr Mahathir. Everybody, from his supporters to his opponents could define Dr Mahathir clearly in several words. "Independent minded, strong willed, anti-West and willing to sock it to his opponents - both within and outside the country." Or dicator if you were his opponent. The descriptions are one and the same, and are completely congruent with the way Dr Mahathir styled his leadership.
With Najib - people are confused to no end. This confusion is felt right across the political spectrum, from the warlords, the MPs, the ADUNs, component party leaders, UMNO members, component party members, the media, cybertroopers and lastly the rakyat.
Nobody knows what the PM's exact stand is. To make things worse, Najib's advisers co-opted Dato Ibrahim Ali in order to pursue a strange two pronged strategy where the PM focuses on transformation and Perkasa focuses on intimidation. And guess what, even Ibrahim Ali himself was confused - what exactly does the Prime Minister want.
Ibrahim Ali blasted the PM "one day they ban the demo, the other day they can use the stadium, first its stadium Merdeka, then Stadium Shah Alam. .".
This puts the PM in great risk. If there is one characteristic that is sure to engender his eventual removal as President of UMNO is that he is not his own man.
TSMY owns the Malay base.
When Najib's advisers pushed him to the right, they ignored the first rule of their Blue Ocean strategy. This position was already occupied and there was no way the aristocratic Western educated Najib was ever going to unseat a graduate in Malay studies and a Johoeran to put. And they severly miscalculated the value of any potential endorsement by Ibrahim Ali in the eventual contest for the Number One position in the country. Dato Ibrahim Ali may well get a portion of the UMNO party base up in arms when he talks about how the Non Malays are undermining everything about the Malay position; the reaction however will be quite different if he were to endorse Najib over his Deputy. In fact, some may even burst out laughing.
The only person these 3rd pary validators like Ibrahim Ali and Zul Nordin were validating was the no-nonsense, no compromise approach taken by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy President of UMNO.
Right from day 1, when Najib's advisers were tripping over themselves with the 1Malaysia message, TSMY moved into the right wing vacuum and to this day occupies that position uncontested. This is traditional TSMY territory and where TSMY is completely in his natural element.
That itself would have been a grave mistake but then then this mistake now borders on criminal negligence when the strategy completely came apart on the afternoon of July 9, 2011. Millions of Malaysians saw a majority of Malay, but also Chinese and Indians take to the street only to be met by the water cannons and batons of the FRU.
The immediate and intermediate outcome of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration was that the Prime Minister is left with no credible platform. He cannot campaign on the defending the Malay agenda as he had failed to stop a "popular revolt" masterminded by one little Indian girl. He cannot campaign on 1Malaysia because of he just cannot be taken seriously. He cannot bank on the youth vote, a voting bank courted so assiduously by the popular BN Youth head because he is viewed as authoritarian. He cannot campaign as the leader of the country because he promptly left the country after the demonstration, when wounds were stil raw and counter accusations flying from both sides. He cannot campaign as an international statesman because he just isn't that.
The only person these 3rd pary validators like Ibrahim Ali and Zul Nordin were validating was the no-nonsense, no compromise approach taken by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy President of UMNO.
Right from day 1, when Najib's advisers were tripping over themselves with the 1Malaysia message, TSMY moved into the right wing vacuum and to this day occupies that position uncontested. This is traditional TSMY territory and where TSMY is completely in his natural element.
That itself would have been a grave mistake but then then this mistake now borders on criminal negligence when the strategy completely came apart on the afternoon of July 9, 2011. Millions of Malaysians saw a majority of Malay, but also Chinese and Indians take to the street only to be met by the water cannons and batons of the FRU.
The immediate and intermediate outcome of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration was that the Prime Minister is left with no credible platform. He cannot campaign on the defending the Malay agenda as he had failed to stop a "popular revolt" masterminded by one little Indian girl. He cannot campaign on 1Malaysia because of he just cannot be taken seriously. He cannot bank on the youth vote, a voting bank courted so assiduously by the popular BN Youth head because he is viewed as authoritarian. He cannot campaign as the leader of the country because he promptly left the country after the demonstration, when wounds were stil raw and counter accusations flying from both sides. He cannot campaign as an international statesman because he just isn't that.
| The Queen deliberately wore yellow to give the royal reproach to the Malaysian strongman. |
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| In the first week of July those wearing yellow ran the risk of being stopped by the Police |
These is what is being formulated up and down the country in the coffee houses, Government departments, staff rooms and warungs. It seems everybody - whether your an UMNO grassroots leader upset with the antics of the non Malay dominated Opposition (naik tocang syndrome) to a Chinese girl working in the banks in Kuala Lumpur - everybody is pissed with Najib.
The only real victor from Najib's constant shifting between Bapa Transformasi Malaysia to FRU Cheerleader is Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Opposition. Up and down the country, career UMNO political players are beginning to ask this one question : "What does TSMY think of me?"
Matthias Chang, Dr Mahathir's "attack dog" had posted a long email giving the PM a lot of advice on how to salvage his reputation. The Rembau Times demands the PM continues the way he has, and not change a thing.
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