The tale of Najib and the Chinese tsunami

 

BY NOW we all know that in blaming the “Chinese tsunami” for BN’s unconvincing GE13 performance and defending Utusan Malaysia “Apa lagi China mahu?” (What more the Chinese want?) headline, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is finding himself getting quite a flak.

 

From ordinary Malaysians and even BN supporters, from the opposition – that goes without saying. And “flak” is a tame word to use.

 

The question is why a leader, who professes 1Malaysia and wants national reconciliation following the hotly-contested GE, would say and do something that quite a number of people deem racist?

 

“He has to find a scapegoat and the Chinese are a convenient target. If he admits there’s a Malay shift, he will lose his Umno presidency in double quick time,” said a political observer. (To many, GE13 saw an “urban tsunami” involving Malays as well and the divide is between urban and rural, not between Malays and Chinese).

 

The remarks made by the observer could be taken to mean Najib feels “threatened” or rather “insecure” in keeping his job in Umno which brings along with it, the premiership.  

 

Already pro-BN media have been carrying reports on the need for Najib to continue leading the nation and crediting him for the BN election victory.

 

To Choong Pui Yee, senior analyst at Nanyang Technological University’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Najib’s credibility will be challenged in general.

 

“There is a possibility of power struggle within Umno as the GE result is worse than the previous one,” said Choong. And surely we remember all too well what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said sometime in January on what would happen should Najib fail to deliver.

 

Najib had promised a two-third majority win for BN at the federal level and win back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat. That did not happen and the immediate speculation is that Najib will be asked to step down or face a challenge from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, his deputy.

 

Muhyiddin with Mahathir played a big role in ousting Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi following BN’s dismal performance in the 2008 polls.

 

But said an Umno strategist a repeat of that will not take place – meaning Najib is “safe”.

 

“You must understand the psyche of Muhyiddin. He is a loyal deputy,” said the strategist implying Muhyiddin will not mount a challenge. Echoing that is another BN strategist who went on to say, “Muhyiddin has openly expressed support for Najib to carry on as the number one.”

 

Even Umno’s supreme council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has said there’s no reason for Najib to step down or be challenged as he has “done well”. 

 

In the 2008 polls, Umno won 79 seats it contested and in GE13 won 88 out of the 120 seats it vied for. But overall, Najib did not better the score registered by Abdullah’s BN in 2008. (The scoreboard read BN 140, Pakatan 82 in 2008. For GE13, it’s BN 133 Pakatan 89).

 

Both the strategists were quick to point out that “Mahathir is quiet when Mukhriz is MB”, referring to the former PM’s son who is also Kedah menteri besar after BN wrested the state from PAS/Pakatan administration. 

 

However, to many observers, it was Mahathir who delivered Kedah to BN this time with the help of Tun Daim Zainuddin the former finance minister who had also campaigned in the state.

 

Anyway, the two strategists spoke just a tad too soon. A few hours after they spoke on Mahathir “being quiet”, the former PM was quiet no more. He told a media conference he “did not expect Najib to do worse than Abdullah”.

 

Read more at: http://fz.com/content/tale-najib-and-chinese-tsunami