The 1Malaysia slogan was supposed to be the game changer for PM Najib Abdul Razak when he took office in 2009. Najib came out with 1Malaysia slogan to win back the non-Malays who had deserted Umno/BN after the 2008 general election when for the first time BN lost their two-thirds majority and five states fell to Pakatan.
The slogan was launched with much pomp and pride to turn around the electoral fortunes of BN. 1Malaysia campaigns and slogans were launched emphasising the ethnic harmony, unity and improve delivery to the government agencies and civil servants and Umno politicians. Huge funds were injected into the 1Malaysia campaign and transformation initiatives.
Public debt, which stood at 38 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009, jumped to almost 55 percent around 2014. But the national unity, public delivery and corruption levels never improved for the better.
From the beginning, Umno hardline leaders nurtured and groomed by Dr Mahathir Mohamad rejected and did not support the 1Malaysian theme of PM Najib. The 1Malaysia intiatives, the transformation programs and people first and performance now initiatives, did not receive the needed support from civil servants and Umno hardliners.
Mahathir himself reported saying that he “still doesn’t understand (masih tidak faham)” the concept. Perkasa went to town against the PM for introducing the 1Malaysia campaign to unite the country. Najib was helplessly watching the opposition within Umno, Mahathir, Perkasa and Isma, and remained silent without confronting them.
The 1Malaysia slogan was spoken about and mentioned in all government-sponsored programmes but its objectives were never achieved. National unity, improvement in deliver systems and corruption level never improved and the whole initiative was a failure.
Najib, armed with the 1Malaysia slogan and transformation initiatives programmes behind him, went into the 13th election in 2013 hoping to wind more non-Malay votes and retain the Malay votes. The non-Malay support did not come back to BN and for the first time BN lost the popular votes.
Even though Pakatan secured 52 percent of the popular vote, they could only win 89 parliament seats out of 222 (40 percent). It’s obvious that BN won due to gerrymandering and unfair delineation of electoral boundaries.
After the 2013 elections Najib dumped 1Malaysia and made moves to win back Malay votes and strengthen his position in Umno. All his efforts failed and to top it all Malaysians witnessed the MH370 disappearance, drop in oil prices and now the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) imbroglio.
Complex money trails
Even though 1Malaysia initiatives did not bring the much needed national unity and harmony, the 1MDB sovereign fund turned out to be a swelling pool that might drag down even the BN government. The complex money trails round the globe and the complex wheeling and dealing is simply too complicated for even professionals.
It’s amazing that a Finance Ministry-linked company will billions of dollars was being handled by people not in its management using dubious companies, and with the Finance Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office, Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission just watching it happen. Within five years since its inception, the sovereign fund accumulated RM42 billion in debts and still counting.
Assets past their expiry dates were purchased with excessive prices and prime lands allotted at nominal prices, hoping for high gains on valuations. Excessive loans with high interest rates were taken to finance the purchase of overpriced assets, finally exposing the unsustainable business model of 1MDB.
Billions of dollars being transferred out with no questions from Bank Negara to dubious accounts in the Cayman Islands managed by unknown fund managers from Hong Kong makes 1MDB a thriller story. Malaysians may forget all the other 1Malaysia initiatives but 1MDB will be remembered and quoted as an example of how funds should not be managed. It is sad that a noble initiative turned out to be colossal mistake.
S RAMAKRISHNAN is a former senator.
