Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s determination to hit the ground running risks a face-plant, instead. On the eve of Malaysia Day, he announced that his government would adopt a tone of moderation.

He reiterated this in his maiden speech at the UN General Assembly. However, recent events reveal how moderation has been unravelling into a show of force and extremism.

 

At the Umno gene NONE ral assembly, Najib was in combative mood. He was fueled with indignation, insensitive to the wider Malaysian public and incredibly predictable. He played to the mood of the delegates and, whether he realised it or not, lacked credibility.

 

When he urged party members not to lose faith in defending Umno and BN in their struggles to lead the country, he said: “Come what may, Putrajaya must be defended.”

 

If he thought this was a stirring statement, he was wrong. It was riddled with hostility.

If he believed he would stimulate action, he was right. It encouraged fear and apprehension.

If he imagined his words would inspire, he was deluded. His words preach envy and hatred.

 

What are we defending Putrajaya from? Democracy? The rule of law? Fairness and justice? Invading armies? The aliens? Or the beast inherent within each of us - which is the manifestation of the individual’s evil to which we can trace the defects of human society, to the defects of human nature?

 

Yes. I agree. Putrajaya must be defended, but NOT as the seat of Umno politics. It is the seat of Malaysian politics. The people decide. Najib cannot stake a claim on behalf of Umno.

 

Najib’s leaders NONE hip and professionalism are questionable. Another of his pugnacious remarks was: “Even if our bodies are crushed and our lives lost, brothers and sisters, whatever happens, we must defend Putrajaya.”

 

These words are reminiscent of a coward, someone in retreat or a desperate person. A prime minister should never make this type of remark: It is both unforgiveable and irresponsible. He is not fit to govern and treads a dangerous path. Will Najib go down in history as Malaysia’s most infamous PM - the ‘Idi Amin’ of Malaysia?

 

Najib offered no hint of tolerance, acceptance or honesty. There is neither intelligent reasoning nor rationality, just hatred and disorder. To those in the know, it is obvious that he acts to defend the interests of a small minority.

 

He talked about “encouraging Malays to improve themselves”, of “plans and strategies…..for survival of the Malays” and of “modernisation and globalisation”.

A strong politician inspires but the image we receive is of a weak politician racked with self-pity.

 

Every year, Umno’s leaders have built on people’s insecurities - economic, financial, religious and racial. The theme is the same, maybe with slight variations, but the bottom line is ‘the Malays will be wiped out’.

Clean up Putrajaya

 

Why can’t leaders of Umno step out of the mould and lead properly, for once?

 

Najib should clean up Putrajaya. There is public anger at corruption but very little headway in tackling it. Corruption has a debilitating effect on even our best and brightest.

 

Najib could ensure that Parliament is supreme. Or that we return to law and order and accountability. When will his government stop being indecisive about our schools, the teaching of English or to promote meritocracy?

azlan We were warned that, without belt-tightening measures, the country could go bankrupt. It makes little sense then, to spend billions on mega-projects like the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka.

This year, Najib raised the nation’s ire with: “Imagine the outcome if every generation …… questions the rationale of the national social contract.” He then conjured images of “ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Rwanda” and the “slaughtering of Palestinians”.

 

These statements are clearly malicious and designed to incite fear.  They are racist in tone and meant to exacerbate racial tensions.

 

Umno appears desirous of being a demigod but fears rejection by the people. It acts like it is free from the restraints of conventional society and behaves although it is not governed by democratic rules.

Najib said that Umno “would prepare the Malays so that they would be armed with knowledge and the right frame of mind”; however, he is being disingenuous.

 

With preferential treatment for Malays, the learning edge is blunted by a lack of competition, and Malays remain backward. That way, ignorance helps keep weak political parties and even weaker politicians, in power.

Who are Umno or BN’s target audience? The poor, the marginalised and the uneducated.

Viruses grow stronger with mutations and constant change. Even the humble mosquito is evolving into a more dangerous menace. But all the while, Malays are kept averse to change, to “ensure their survival”.

 

Who will reac azlan h out to the rural and marginalised Malays and Malaysians, and show them that the world, not their tempurung , is their oyster? That they deserve better. That 53 years of Umno only effected cosmetic change. That Malays must be awakened from their slumber. That they are deliberately kept in the dark.

 

The Malays are like a container ship on the high seas, headed for a perfect storm. Who will navigate the ship, to change its course and prevent it from running aground or breaking up?  

 

The Malays are a feudalistic and fatalistic race and these tendencies tend to cloud their reasoning and sense of order. They wonder why their lands are undeveloped, when all it needs is the political will to sort out the inheritance laws.

They wonder why their children are misbehaving, when there is no father figure in the house, because he devotes all his money and attention to his youngest wife. They wonder why their youth are the ones most afflicted with social ills like drug-taking, incest and abandoned babies.

Instead of instilling discipline, parental control, having aspiration and being proactive, Malays talk in terms of sabar-lah (patience) and takdir (divine fate). Will they ever learn that God helps those who help themselves and that the ‘ultraputras’ help themselves anyway?

 

Isn’t it pathetic that after 53 years we are still talking in terms of individual races? How can we progress if the non-Malay BN component parties keep mum about Najib’s inflammatory speech?

 

Najib’s words indicate that the opposition is gaining valuable ground. In the lead up to GE-13, will Malaysians grab what could be their final chance for truth and common sense?

 

 

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.