With plenty to chew on, PM’s silence confounds Malaysians
(MM) – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s silence as the country grapples with a trifecta of crime, religious strife and a stuttering economy three months after Election 2013 has Malaysians asking who is at the nation’s helm, Singapore’s The Straits Times reported today.
The Singapore daily contrasted this with Najib’s gung-ho approach after taking over from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009, when he had set the foundation for his reformist image by freeing Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees and lifted the ban on two opposition party newsletters.
One analyst said Barisan Nasional (BN) was still reeling from the May 5 general election — its new low since the previous nadir of 2008.
“Najib’s Cabinet will need more than 100 days to settle in because of the aftershocks still being felt,” Dr Syed Arabi Idid, dean of the communications department at the International Islamic University Malaysia, was quoted as saying by the ST.
Today is the Najib Cabinet’s 100th day in power, following their swearing in on May 16. Najib was sworn in as prime minister one day after the election, on May 6.
Others believe the reticence this time around may be due to the impending Umno election later this year, where a challenge may arise for Najib’s presidency and, by extension, prime minister’s post.
“Najib has been too preoccupied with defending his position in the Umno party elections, to the extent that there has been no clear direction in economic, political or nation-building policies,” Seremban MP Anthony Loke, national organising secretary of the DAP, told the ST.
But whatever the reason for his silence, the country’s issues continue to pile up.
Yesterday saw the renewal of the Christian-Muslim tussle over the Arabic word “Allah”, when Putrajaya won leave to appeal a 2009 High Court ruling upholding the Catholic Church’s right to use the word outside of a Muslim context.
Before that, other religious issues have built up the antagonism between Muslims and non-Muslims: a mock Ramadan message by a pair of sex bloggers, who have since been charged; a three-year old Aidilfitri video of a Muslim dog trainer and three pet-hounds that was recently reposted online; and a surau in Johor that was used a group of Buddhists.
Muslims have seen insult in each of the three cases.
The country is also transfixed with shootings and gun violence, with near-daily incidents reported in the media. The police have finally launched a nationwide crackdown on the gangs they allege are behind the incidents, arresting hundreds in the process.
But most worrying for the country is Malaysia’s recent credit outlook downgrade by Fitch Ratings. Although some analysts have described the move as unsurprising, it had brought the country’s finances directly into public’s attention.
The country is now into its 16th straight year of budget deficits, with the national debt level pushing on the legal ceiling of 55 per cent of gross domestic product.
The situation is compounded by a capital flight from emerging markets, with foreign investors withdrawing their funds and repatriating these to their home nations in the West.
It is also feared that Malaysia is set to record a trade deficit — the first since the Asian financial crisis — after its current account surplus dropped in April to its lowest since the 1997 crash.
