Back from Saudi Arabia, Najib hits back at Mahathir

Robin Stanley Augustin, The Ant Daily

Seemingly recharged after his official trip to Saudi Arabia, Prime Ministrer Najib Razak went on the offensive against his biggest critic, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In a report by The Malaysian Insider, Najib on his blog called on Malaysians not to be “taken in” by Mahathir’s “half-truths, misleading jokes and twisting statements.”

Labelling Mahathir a “master of public perception” Najib said the public should take a step back and analyse the facts of what he (Najib) has accomplished in the driving seat of the nation.

“Tun (Mahathir) is a veteran politician and a master of public perception. He understands that political statements are not entirely about the truth but about what the people will believe in the court of public opinion.

“This is why he continues to make insinuations, speaking half-truths, cracking misleading jokes and twisting statements to make his views exciting and palatable.

“We have done so much in the last six years, but Tun ignores these and only highlights allegations and problems as he knows that is how to influence the people’s mind against the current government and me.”

Najib also said that even if he were to step down, Mahathir would continue to intervene in the country’s administration and that people would tend to believe what he says as he was no “ordinary citizen”.

Well, those are some strong words from the prime minister.

Perhaps he felt the need to use such words following the severe “beating” his image took after the #Nothing2Hide dialogue, which he was forced to miss due to “safety concerns”.

Najib has now gone on the attack with his latest blog posting.

The report noted that this was the third time Najib had resorted to using his blog to address the accusations levelled at him by Mahathir.

Politics is a battle of perception and by Najib’s own admission, he is battling a master.

While the government of the day has access to the mainstream media machinery, in this day and age battles of perception are often won or lost on the Internet.

On the Internet, however, the prime minister might find it difficult to find love and respect from ordinary Malaysians as his postings are often followed by condemnation and ridicule.

This tit-for-tat between Mahathir and Najib is set to continue and you can be sure that it will not take long for Mahathir to strike back against this latest salvo.

In the battle of perception, Najib is fighting a losing battle. His strategy is just not working. Asking people not to be taken in by Mahathir’s statements is just not going to work.

Najib is seen as being afraid of his once mentor. This is not going to go away with one or a thousand blog posts.

Najib must answer his detractors if he wishes to stay in power and he must do so in the open.

While he squandered the chance to do so at the #Nothing2Hide forum, Najib should not waste a second more in asking for a “rematch”.

Najib should really listen to the calls of the people for a debate with Mahathir. Only by facing him that way can he shed the “coward” tag.

Otherwise it will only be a matter of time before he loses the support of even his most loyal followers.