In a speech at the MCA annual general meeting, Prime Minister Najib Razak blew his own 1Malaysia cover. Far from the multi-racial image that he has been exhorting his countrymen to accept, he used the occasion to ingratiate himself with the right-wing Malay nationalists in his own Umno party, urging the Chinese-based MCA to be less “communal”, and more tellingly, to be less “demanding”.
The 57-year old Najib, who recently returned from Eurpoean and U.S. trips, talked tough but pundits said he did not “shoot straight”. They said he opted to shock with phrases like “kick ass” in order to hide the hollowness of his words and the hypocrisy of his message.
“The only ass that Najib kicked today is probably his own. I think not just the MCA members but Malaysians as a whole felt let down. The feeling at the end of the day is, what has changed? Has anything changed at all? If you close your eyes, his speech could have been from any other Umno leader of the past –Mahathir even Badawi,” Batu MP Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
“The bullying continues and it is sad for Soi Lek and the MCA. They can make a pretence of standing up for Chinese rights and questioning the continuation of the New Economic Policy and the 30 percent Bumi target. But the fact that Najib came right to their front door and kicked them in the face shows how much reality there can be in the BN for racial equality and rights.”
Najib closes another door
On Sunday, Najib further closed the door on his previous attempt to put Umno on a multi-racial track that political and social scientists have longed warned was overdue and the only way to stop the country from degenerating into the apartheid system practiced in the past by countries like South Africa.
But the threat of a power tussle led by conservative factions controlled by former premier Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin soon put paid to Najib’s fledging attempts to break free from under their shadow.
So far, he has resorted to the political double-speak that his expensive public relations consultants have turned into an art-form, sending out different and often contrasting messages to different crowds and different races. But such negative strategy cannot go unnoticed for long. It has already taken a toll on his popularity, with few Malaysians bothering to take note of what he says anymore.
“The wonder of it all is that he thinks he can get away with it. Sad to say, hypocrisy has become Najib's hallmark and people now see him as a transient figure – on the way out. Frankly, nobody is happy with Muhyiddin at all but there is a talent vacuum in Umno, and Najib has been too disappointing,” Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.
Kicking ass and the pot calling the kettle black
At the MCA annual general meeting, Najib delivered a 48-minute speech where he told MCA members to serve all races, not just the Chinese.
He told the party – the second largest in the ruling Barisan Nasional after Umno – not to be demanding in a veiled but clear reference to recent speeches by MCA leaders, where they had called for the end of the pro-Malay NEP that many economists and experts have blamed for the racial polarization and endemic corruption in Malaysia.
“Everyone can make demands. I go to MCA, they demand. I go to Gerakan, they demand. I go to MIC, they demand. I go to Sabah and Sarawak, they demand. I go to the Telegu community, too, they demand,” Malaysian Insider reported Najib as saying.
“Everybody demands... this is a normal process by you need to put in the national perspective, not only just for your own community but sometimes, we have to have the spirit of give and take. That is what makes Malaysia so special, we have the spirit of give and take for the sake of national interest. You look after me, I look after you.”
Najib’s only remark that was welcomed by the Chinese community was that they should not be called kaum pendatang (or migrants). In his speech, he also ticked off MCA president Chua Soi Lek.
“Dr Chua, you have to do some ass-kicking, as the Americans say. Move the machinery at the district level... they are getting lethargic and demotivated. They have to be loyal and committed, and if they are not, please leave the party; we do not need them around... make way for others who believe in our cause,” said Najib, who is also the BN chairman.
Yet, other leaders wondered why he did not tell his Umno party, which has been accused of hegemony and racism, the same things that he told the MCA.
“Like they say, a leopard cannot change its spots. Najib is the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. If Umno really means business, it should show the way and be the first BN party to open up its membership to non-Malays, abolish their racial discrimination policies," Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming told Malaysia Chronicle.
"The only thing I agree with in his speech is the sentence where he says, don’t call the Chinese pendatang. It is true no one likes this sort of racial slur. But this is just a comment in his speech. Very different from really practicing zero-tolerance policy - in fact, two different things, I must stress."
Wong Choon Mei
Malaysia Chronicle
11/10/10
The 57-year old Najib, who recently returned from Eurpoean and U.S. trips, talked tough but pundits said he did not “shoot straight”. They said he opted to shock with phrases like “kick ass” in order to hide the hollowness of his words and the hypocrisy of his message.
“The only ass that Najib kicked today is probably his own. I think not just the MCA members but Malaysians as a whole felt let down. The feeling at the end of the day is, what has changed? Has anything changed at all? If you close your eyes, his speech could have been from any other Umno leader of the past –Mahathir even Badawi,” Batu MP Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
“The bullying continues and it is sad for Soi Lek and the MCA. They can make a pretence of standing up for Chinese rights and questioning the continuation of the New Economic Policy and the 30 percent Bumi target. But the fact that Najib came right to their front door and kicked them in the face shows how much reality there can be in the BN for racial equality and rights.”
Najib closes another door
On Sunday, Najib further closed the door on his previous attempt to put Umno on a multi-racial track that political and social scientists have longed warned was overdue and the only way to stop the country from degenerating into the apartheid system practiced in the past by countries like South Africa.
But the threat of a power tussle led by conservative factions controlled by former premier Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin soon put paid to Najib’s fledging attempts to break free from under their shadow.
So far, he has resorted to the political double-speak that his expensive public relations consultants have turned into an art-form, sending out different and often contrasting messages to different crowds and different races. But such negative strategy cannot go unnoticed for long. It has already taken a toll on his popularity, with few Malaysians bothering to take note of what he says anymore.
“The wonder of it all is that he thinks he can get away with it. Sad to say, hypocrisy has become Najib's hallmark and people now see him as a transient figure – on the way out. Frankly, nobody is happy with Muhyiddin at all but there is a talent vacuum in Umno, and Najib has been too disappointing,” Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.
Kicking ass and the pot calling the kettle black
At the MCA annual general meeting, Najib delivered a 48-minute speech where he told MCA members to serve all races, not just the Chinese.
He told the party – the second largest in the ruling Barisan Nasional after Umno – not to be demanding in a veiled but clear reference to recent speeches by MCA leaders, where they had called for the end of the pro-Malay NEP that many economists and experts have blamed for the racial polarization and endemic corruption in Malaysia.
“Everyone can make demands. I go to MCA, they demand. I go to Gerakan, they demand. I go to MIC, they demand. I go to Sabah and Sarawak, they demand. I go to the Telegu community, too, they demand,” Malaysian Insider reported Najib as saying.
“Everybody demands... this is a normal process by you need to put in the national perspective, not only just for your own community but sometimes, we have to have the spirit of give and take. That is what makes Malaysia so special, we have the spirit of give and take for the sake of national interest. You look after me, I look after you.”
Najib’s only remark that was welcomed by the Chinese community was that they should not be called kaum pendatang (or migrants). In his speech, he also ticked off MCA president Chua Soi Lek.
“Dr Chua, you have to do some ass-kicking, as the Americans say. Move the machinery at the district level... they are getting lethargic and demotivated. They have to be loyal and committed, and if they are not, please leave the party; we do not need them around... make way for others who believe in our cause,” said Najib, who is also the BN chairman.
Yet, other leaders wondered why he did not tell his Umno party, which has been accused of hegemony and racism, the same things that he told the MCA.
“Like they say, a leopard cannot change its spots. Najib is the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. If Umno really means business, it should show the way and be the first BN party to open up its membership to non-Malays, abolish their racial discrimination policies," Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming told Malaysia Chronicle.
"The only thing I agree with in his speech is the sentence where he says, don’t call the Chinese pendatang. It is true no one likes this sort of racial slur. But this is just a comment in his speech. Very different from really practicing zero-tolerance policy - in fact, two different things, I must stress."
Wong Choon Mei
Malaysia Chronicle
11/10/10
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