vox populi small thumbnail 'No matter what you do and what you say, if you do not have the trust from the people, your effort goes down to the drain.'

Najib Club's 'cool' way to win young voters

Abasir: Here we go again, another first for PM Najib Razak.

It was not too long ago that Malaysians were treated to the historic Hari Raya address by his second wife (for the first time in the nation's history) and now the Najib Razak fan club to boost his personal ratings.

The PM is downright desperate and pitifully so. Meanwhile, Bersih chairperson S Ambiga is conferred France's highest honour, the Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) - without the aid of a secretly-funded fan club.

Gerard Samuel Vijayan: What branding? More like re-branding corruption, cronyism, nepotism, abuses of power, economic mismanagement and moral decay. Are these the things that appeal to young voters?

Umno is beyond re-branding unless Najib plans to make a conversion to virtue and fortitude in the face of the entrenched nationalist warlords in his own party who thrive on the race and religion agenda.

Or is he going to make Malaysia a genuine liberal democracy with a free press, strong and independent institutions, accountability and transparency in governance?

The young crave freedom the most, jobs, a good income and all the trimmings of a modern and progressive society.

But does Najib have the right vision, honesty and moral stature to deliver on this? Radio talk shows, social media and activities are not going to cut it.

The young voters are well aware of the dangers of giving one party too much power over a very long period of time.

Mohd: How can the Najib Razak Club be apolitical or neutral when it is in fact promoting an individual rather than the country?

Call it whatever it may but this is purely some individuals trying to ‘air-cond' those in power to get some projects and preferential treatment. I will be banning ‘Upin and Ipin' immediately in my house.

Docs: Politically, Najib is lame duck. Mounting pressure from the opposition politicians, the public and from his own party leadership has left Najib ineffective to carried out his function as PM.

As for his personal image, the only thing that comes to the public's mind is - Altantuya Shaariibuu, Rosmah Mansor, submarine commission, corruption, state visits coinciding with his children' wedding or graduation, etc.

Dood: Cute. But the truth is, there is nothing cool about supporting the leader of a party that promotes racism, bigotry and discrimination.

Moon: It's appalling that such a person in high position as the PM does not know that the fundamental problem is himself.

The problem is the level of trust Malaysians have with him. No matter what you do and what you say, if you do not have the trust from the people, your effort goes down to the drain.

If you want to win votes, spend your effort to win the trust from the people. Come out clean with all the outstanding issues surrounding you and your wife.

And be sincere in listening to the people. Do not underestimate the intelligence of our youth.

Good men: You have to be pretty shallow and naive to fall for that. Try and instead analyse issues that really count. And also judge the man by questions he refuses to answer.

Black Mamba: Glossing a dishonourable man with some colourful paint work?

'PAS wouldn't force hudud down people's throats'

3com: The concept of hudud is still not clearly explained to all non-Muslims. Those learned people do not have strong influence or wide enough media coverage to educate the public. Therefore pursuing it would be a disaster and may result in Pakatan paying a heavy price.

Azizi Khan: The fundamental problem with Malaysia is that Umno and PAS pretend that there exist only Muslims and everyone else is either ‘Muslim in waiting' or ‘they don't matter'.

Furthermore, we have seen how syariah justice is biased and causes so much problem in Islamic family courts. So are we implying that somehow hudud will solve the problem? And if it doesn't, why do it? Why is taxpayers (who are mostly non-Muslims) money used to implement something that won't work whilst an existing system is available?

Mind you (before you lot get your knickers in a bunch), I am not saying hudud is bad. But Islamic laws (and Islamic bodies) in Malaysia are always left wanting - and they encroach non-Muslims at every opportunity and we know this is a fact.

So there is nothing wrong with God's law - it's man's implementation of the law that is imperfect.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is a multi-cultural country with a constitution and a legal system (the last time I checked). How can any group of people decide just like that - that the laws of the land should not apply to them?

So it is not about non-Muslims ‘understanding' hudud. It's about being fair and unbiased - something Malaysian Muslims have yet to learn.

Patriot: In the spirit of goodwill and solidarity within the Pakatan family, I am sure PAS will come up with an amicable decision on this issue. The main objective should be to work on an effective electoral pact that have a strong chance of wresting the power from BN.

However, if PAS insists on pursuing an Islamic solution and subject the non-Muslims to conform to it, then l would stick to the devil I know. Remember, Malaysia is a multi-religious country with a sizable non-Muslim population.

Dan Dan: MCA didn't raise a finger to protest when former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared Malaysia an Islamic state. Their wakil rakyat (state representatives) in Kedah had quietly allowed strict entertainment laws to be passed back in the 1990s.

Chief Minister Ali Rustam in Malacca has been harassing pork sellers and pig farmers in more ways than one, and I haven't seen any MCA leader telling him off. Now you want me to believe non-Muslims will always fare better under Umno?

Black Mamba: The non-Muslims are now totally convinced that hudud laws should be implemented. As it doesn't apply to them, there is no fear. It's the Umno Muslims who are fearful of this law and it's the reason they play it up in the mainstream media.

They foresee the day will come when they can't wear their fanciful Panerai, Hublot, Cartier, thick gold bracelets and Tiffany rings anymore, and prominent VIPs and their wives will be walking around without arms.

 

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