your say 'Najib has the media behind him and a very expensive PR company to promote his image at home and abroad. What has Anwar got?'

Najib seen as better leader than Anwar

Multi Racial: That PM Najib Razak is seen as a better leader than Anwar Ibrahim is a matter of perception. Najib has the power to use the government servants and media, while Anwar has none.

To make things worse, Najib uses whatever is within his disposal to discredit Anwar, and to a certain extent, many believe him. For fairer comparison, we should compare Najib to his Asean counterparts.

Kgen: No politician has been vilified, humiliated, prosecuted, persecuted, harassed, slandered, demonised, jailed and even beaten up more than Anwar.

Yet he still soldiers on when a lesser man would have caved in and retired from politics or rejoined Umno. A lesser man like Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, for instance. Or the many politician-frogs who betrayed the people who voted for them.

A leader of Anwar's mettle comes but once in a lifetime. I do not expect him to be perfect or for his views to perfectly match my own. But he opposes an evil regime and he gives us hope for a better Malaysia.

When I think of Anwar I am reminded of the song, ‘The Impossible Dream'. "And the world will be better by far/That one man torn and covered with scars/Still strove with his last ounce of courage/To reach the unreachable star".

Anonymous: Cut the yarn. Ask Najib to call for a general election now, and it will prove you wrong. This was an unfair comparison.

Najib has the 'power of the media' behind him and a very expensive public relations company to promote his image at home and abroad.

What has Anwar got? The mass media shows him intentionally in a bad light and he is given limited media airtime. Any video on Anwar is on him entering and leaving the courtroom. Not much to build an image, right?

Malaysiasakit: Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian is right to a certain extent when it comes to penetration of alternative media. But unlike United State, Malaysia's electorate vote for their representative, not for the PM.

Voters tend to look at political parties, and this is where the reputation of the party comes into play. Rural folks have relatives such as children and nephews and nieces in urban areas.

This is where the influence spreads, at least in West Malaysia. East Malaysia could be different, though.

Ronnie Liu 235d: Perception is not the truth but the media can somehow shape the opinion of its readers and viewers. Najib is not a good leader, and in fact, there's none in BN.

Alan Goh: Najib is the most scandalised prime minister in the history of Malaysia and has abused his position to cover up the Scorpene submarines deal, the recent deportation of the French lawyer William Bourdon, the late Altantuya Shaariibuu murder and the statutory declaration by PI Balasubramaniam, the handling of the Bersih 2.0 rally and many more.

Najib has failed miserably to set leadership by example. Only in a Third World country like Malaysia do we have such a prime minister as leader.

Fair Player: If we want a better government, we have to move inland into the interior where access to the Internet is not available.

Pakatan Rakyat has to set up IT centres for the rural folks, with IT experts teaching and spreading information to the young and the old in the villages so that everyone can have fair access to assess the candidates for the next general election.

Ssh: It all depends on what Ibrahim Suffian's and the public's definition of a leader. Najib is very well-known for manipulation, corruption, slander and the infamous Altantuya Shaariibuu case, but perhaps with the help of Apco Worldwide, he has managed to manipulate the public, especially the rural and semi-rural Malays and Indians.

Unlike Najib, Anwar doesn't need an Israel-connected company to spruce his image.

Faz: In the Malaysian contact, pollsters are nothing more than slanted academic exercise to prop up certain issues. The assumed method seems to adhere to accepted norm,but it is not.

The track record of Merdeka Centre is at the most dismal. I would say the report was manipulated to show a predetermined conclusion.

Lexicon: Everything Ibrahim Suffian said makes sense. Why shoot the messenger? Wouldn't it be more productive if those commentators lobbing insults at Ibrahim put some thought into how to overcome the unfair advantage of the mainstream media instead?

If this comments section counts as a poll, then 69 percent of the commentators are shouting mindlessly.

Docs: 69 percent of the Malaysian population approve of Najib and his leadership. In short, 69 percent of the Malaysian population is happy with Najib's racist policies, handling (or mishandling) of the economy and, of course, spending taxpayers money on his wife's xpenses.

2CTS WORTH: The PM is seen to be trying to do something and saying something right. Agreed. But the key word here is 'trying'. He has done nothing after opening his mouth.

 

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