“One Malaysia†– April Fool’s Slogan to Fool You Again?
It would be a miracle for a person who vowed to “bathe the keris in Chinese blood” in 1987 to suddenly make a 180-degrees turn and sincere about having “One Malaysia” concept.
By comparison the incoming Prime Minister Najib Razak is luckier than outgoing PM Abdullah Badawi. It could be a blessing in disguise that former PM Mahathir selected the not-so-bright Abdullah Badawi as his successor in 2003. It could be a disastrous to have Najib took over instead of Badawi then because the public will make comparison between Mahathir and Najib administration. Now that Badawi screwed up big time people will make comparison between Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak and you don’t have to be rocket scientist to know who the better leader is. And the public “may” throw their support behind Najib’s administration come next general election if he plays the right game at the right time.
It’s a known fact that the first 100-day is the most crucial period in every Prime Minister or President’s calendar of a country. This is also the time when international policy consultants and public relation specialists make good money as their expertise is in demand. It could range from how a new Prime Minister or President’s hairstyle should be changed to the mandatory ingredients needed in his speeches to the nation. In short, the 100-day is the period for extraordinary marketing bombardment. Outgoing PM Badawi is perhaps the only PM that went through the roller-coaster from a Hero (2004’s general election) to Zero (2008’s general election) and subsequently kicked out from the office. And this is invaluable case-study for Najib Razak so as not to repeat the same silly mistake.
