Najib wants to be his own man

(The Malaysian Insider) – Pragmatism, and not bending to the will of former prime ministers, has emerged as the dominant principle behind decision-making in the early days of the Najib administration, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak seeks to reconnect the Barisan Nasional government with the elusive non-Malay and younger vote bank.

And there are two factors which are driving Najib to look at matters in a practical way rather than through party lenses: fear of leading BN into defeat at the next general elections and knowledge that time is not on his side.

The PM believes that he has less than two years to win back some of the support from these two groups that flowed from BN to Pakatan Rakyat in Election 2008, and has continued downstream to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim territory in the five by-elections in West Malaysia since the general elections.

He has told supporters and government officials that though the next polls needs to be held in 2013, he has 18 months to turn ground sentiment BN’s way. Fail and the country could be in the hands of Pakatan Rakyat.

And the only way to achieve this target is to pay less attention to what Umno warlords want and focus on what the rest of the country desires. So since April 3, the Najib administration has liberalised the financial services sector; removed affirmative action quotas for 27 sub-sectors in the services sector and attempted to resolve the thorny religious conversion issue — all moves which have caused consternation among some Umno officials.

Pragmatism has also marked the administration’s foreign policy posture with Najib making it clear that he is not interested in carrying the old baggage in bilateral ties with Singapore, and publicly embracing the republic’s involvement in Iskandar Malaysia.

In the weeks ahead, he may announce the dismantling of the Foreign Investment Committee, address the issue of crowding out by Government-Linked Companies, set new ground rules for private financing initiatives and break ground on a special relationship with China.

Noticeably, nearly all the pragmatic initiatives touch or will involve economic-related matters. The reason is straightforward: he understands that the best-laid plans for BN to regain its poise and stature in Malaysian society will all come to nil if economic growth stays limp. And with the government facing a tough time on the revenue front, sustainable growth will only be possible if the economy is liberalised and foreign investors pour funds into the country.

Najib is also hoping that the liberalisation of the economy will persuade Malaysian Chinese and Indians — long critical of the country’s affirmative action policies — that he is willing to go further than his predecessors in ensuring a more level playing field for everyone.

Analyses of Election 2008 shows that less than 30 per cent of non-Malays voted for BN. The downward trend continued in the by-elections as Chinese and Indians grew more disenchanted with the jarring rhetoric of Umno, and the realisation that reforms promised by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi following the general elections were floundering.

In the recent Bukit Gantang by-election, under 25 per cent of the non-Malay vote went to BN. Examination of the voting pattern also showed that the majority of those aged between 21 and 30 were Opposition supporters.

Najib knows that in any electoral contest, BN can count on 50 per cent of Malay votes. But victory will only be possible in West Malaysian constituencies if the percentage of support from non-Malays for BN increases to between 35 and 40 per cent.

A government official told The Malaysian Insider: “The PM wants to make sure that non-Malays feel part of the mainstream. He believes that if his government is pragmatic and takes a few steps to be inclusive, there is no reason why non-Malays will not support BN again.’’

But the pragmatic approach is not winning over everyone.

Supporters of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad are unhappy with his overtures to Singapore. Malaysia-Singapore ties went through the roughest patch during the Mahathir years and there is no love lost between former prime minister and Singapore’s veteran leader Lee Kuan Yew.

More recently, Mahathir has made it abundantly clear that he is against Singapore’s involvement in Iskandar, believing that the global metropolis will be turned into a colony by the republic. He also wants the Malaysian government to pursue the plan to replace the Causeway.

Mahathir’s supporters did not appreciate Najib’s open invitation for Singapore to get involved in Iskandar and flowery talk of moving bilateral relations forward. Just as grating to them is the idea of abandoning the plan for a half-bridge with a third bridge connecting Pasir Ris and Pasir Gudang.

Over the past few days, messages of discontent have been communicated to the PM but Najib’s position is that he needs space to chart his own policies.

It is unclear if this independent stance will be acceptable to the former prime minister’s supporters who believe that his views should not be flicked aside like cigarette ash given the role his incessant criticisms played in forcing Tun Abdullah out of office.

To be fair, it is not only the supporters of the former PM who are upset. Rumblings against Najib are also being heard among some Umno warlords. They cannot accept his position that some of the affirmative action programmes must be dismantled if the economy is to remain competitive.

In their opinion, the non-Malays have become too assertive and giving in to their demands for a more equitable distribution of wealth will just raise expectations among Chinese and Indians.

Many of them also operate under the assumption that as long as the majority of Malays support Umno/BN candidates, their grip on power in Malaysia is secure.

Publicly, Najib has downplayed the internal resistance to change, pointing out that he is the “biggest warlord’’ in Umno.

But privately, he knows that if he cannot convince the warlords and dissenters that HIS way is the only way forward for Umno/BN, the snipping from the sidelines will get louder and louder until it becomes a major distraction.