Najib’s latest moves a sign of returning to the centre
The Malaysian Insider understands that at last Wednesday’s retreat involving ministers and chief ministers/mentris besar, Najib spoke about the need to understand clearly the aspirations of the people and not be dismissive of people who did not agree with the government.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcements last night of a select committee on electoral reform and rolling back censorship of international media are the clearest sign that he has decided to put some space between himself and hardliners in government, especially Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
Sources in the prime minister’s camp say that Najib now realises the folly of a sledgehammer approach — one which has soiled his aim of being seen as a moderate and reformer and has caused him support of middle Malaysia.
Privately, he has blamed several ministers and aides who have been counselling tough action against Bersih 2.0 and painted an erroneous picture of some of the challenges facing his administration.
“The tough action has widened the disconnect between PM and the people, and the reality of the situation. He is taking steps to repair that damage,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
The Malaysian Insider understands that at last Wednesday’s retreat involving ministers and chief ministers/mentris besar, Najib spoke about the need to understand clearly the aspirations of the people and not be dismissive of people who did not agree with the government.
Notably, many ministers stayed clear of the topic of Bersih 2.0 and electoral reform, with only Hishammuddin giving a stout defence of the police crackdown on the July 9 rally, justifying and saying it was correct.
Since the fallout of the rally, some of Najib’s aides have been at pains to say that he received wrong advice from certain ministers, advice which may explain the PM’s decision to rescind the stadium offer.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib had informed economic advisers on July 5 that the government had agreed to the stadium after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong met Bersih chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan but he then inexplicably changed his mind later.
There has been some pressure from the more conservative elements of Umno for Najib to go hard after the organisers of Bersih, and these hardliners have the support of a couple of senior Umno ministers but the PM knows that this approach will cut his support among middle-class Malays and the non-Malays even more, and reduce chances of a good win at the polls.
It is still unclear why Najib took so long to find out or decide that the hardline approach was leading him down the path of political demise.
