It gets clearer by the day how precarious Prime Minister
Najib Razak's position in his own UMNO party is. His latest scrape is
an allegedly doctored photo to give the impression that popular support
for his leadership is much higher than it really was.
And despite hasty denials by the national news agency Bernama that
the photo had been altered, critics believe the incident will boomerang
and make already upset colleagues in Umno even more "hopping mad" at
the latest attempt to pull wool over their eyes.
"Najib's weakest point is his vanity. Some say this is also encouraged
by his wife Rosmah Mansor and that's why during the Najib
administration, the PM's Office has spent an unprecedented bomb on public relations and image consultants to give a false image
of themselves. Whether it's to boost their ego or to show off to the
country, I think some of these foreign consultants have been found out,
disgraced and now under investigation in their own countries," PKR vice
president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.
"Now Najib has been accused of using Bernama to doctor the Raya picture of 100,000 people going to his open house.
Of course, this will make the Umno warlords even more hopping mad. For
me, I think he is crazy to use such ridiculous tactics. He is making
himself out to be like the North Korean Kims. It's so fake and so
'Bolehland'."
Since assuming the premiership in April 2009, Najib has paid hundreds of
millions of ringgit to media firms including the Shin Bet-linked APCO
and the disgraced UK FBC Media. Most recently, the Malaysian PM was
embarrassed when pro-Israel columnist Joshua Trevino was sacked by the
Guardian for quoting Najib without disclosing he had been "a consultant
for an agency retained by Malaysian business interests and ran a website
called Malaysia Matters".
100,000 vs 10,000
Indeed, the picture
does look suspiciously like it has been 'massaged'. An alert Opposition
leader had pointed this out soon after it was splashed all over the
newspapers. It is also telling that at the same time, the headlines had also screamed only some 10,000 had attended the open house of Najib's deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.
That had added to the talk that a simmering leadership tussle within
Umno, the country's largest political party and the boss of the ruling
BN coalition, had finally erupted into the open. And the catalyst?
Najib's delaying of the 13th general election.
Najib and his influential wife Rosmah are both seen as favoring elections
next year when the BN's 5-year mandate will expire. But Muhyiddin,
former premier Mahathir Mohamad and other UMNO 'warlords' have been
badgering for earlier polls, with Muhyiddin's supporters openly calling
for GE13 to be as early as this month itself.
Speculation has swirled that to show their displeasure, posters had
suddenly appeared in many strategic parts of Johor, which is Muhyiddin's
homestate, agitating for the Pagoh MP to replace Najib as Umno
president and consequently prime minister.
The posters show Muhyiddin with Malaysian flag in the background and the wording ‘Kami Mahu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin Sebagai PM Sebelum PRU 13' (We want Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Prime Minister before the 13th general election) as well as ‘Selamatkan Barisan Nasional’ (Save the BN).
"They blame Najib for delaying the general election
until now when it is obvious BN has lost its edge and all of them will
have to struggle and fight on the ground to defend their seats," Jui
Meng had also said.
Less than beloved: Acid test - do YOU adore the Najibs?
Meanwhile, in denying the picture was doctored, Bernama Editor-in-Chief Yong Soo Heong however admitted the photographer had used his 'creativity' in capturing the picture
of an 'adoring' mass surging forward towards the first couple, whose
true popularity is in much doubt despite attempts by the
government-controlled media to portray them as being 'beloved' by the
nation.
"Time is of the essence for a professional and responsible news
organisation like Bernama and we do not have the time to indulge in
irrational endeavours," Bernama reported Yong as saying.
According to Yong, the photo unit had just been equipped with modern and state-of-the-art cameras and lenses this year. The photographer, Harry Salzman Abu Bakar had taken pictures
of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, British Prime Minister
David Cameron and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in the past
without any problems.
In the this instance, Salzman had used his creativity to depict the large crowd of well-wishers, added Yong.
"One cannot deny that Datuk Seri Najib is a crowd-puller, not just at his own Aidilfitri open house but at other public events as well, because pictures and video footages from other news organisations can also testify to that," said Yong.
Malaysia Chronicle
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