Najib has much to do
Politics often appears to be a family affair in Asia with Pakistan's Bhuttos, India's Gandhis and the Lees in Singapore; now Malaysia looks set to join the party.
Najib Razak, the 55-year-old son of Malaysia's second premier and the nephew of the third, will take the helm in March at a time when this Asian nation of 27 million people grapples with economic problems and rising political and ethnic tensions.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi swept into office in 2003 promising a host of changes. Five years down the line, it is these same promises that have led to his downfall as a disillusioned public punished him for failing to meet expectations.
As Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak prepares to take over next March, he will be anxious to avoid the same pitfalls.
Najib took an unassailable lead in the nominations for the Umno presidency, and will become its president at the party assembly in March. By convention, the Umno president is also Malaysia's prime minister.
So by April, Mr Najib will be set to become Malaysia's sixth prime minister.
With the top job virtually his, the focus has switched to public expectations of Najib's leadership.
He will come into office without the burden of overly high expectations, if only because his public image has already been badly dented by endless allegations over corruption and sex scandals.
He is also coming into office as Malaysia is about to enter a painful economic downturn, following the impact of the global financial crisis. Steep falls in the global prices of oil and commodities spell slower growth next year and a sharp cutback in government expenditure.
Najib will announce a package of economic measures today. Many in the private sector want to see the government use this opportunity to liberalise elements of the pro-Malay affirmative action policies under the New Economic Policy (NEP) that are seen as hampering economic recovery. This, in particular, involves the 30 per cent quota of Malay ownership of public-listed companies which has deterred foreign investment.
In a recent TV interview, Mr Najib said he was working towards the gradual liberalisation of the NEP, as and when Malays begin to feel more confident of competing with others domestically and globally.
There will be nothing easy for Najib. The economy is in danger of crashing. He has to deal with five states in opposition hands, without a two-thirds majority in Parliament
If Malaysians or foreigners expect Najib to be like his father as PM, they will be greatly disappointed.
Najib, who has a bachelor's degree in economics, will take over at a time when a re-energized opposition led by Anwar is seeking to gain power and when economic growth is skidding due to global financial turmoil.
Adding to his troubles, Najib will need to address Malaysia's failure to keep up with more nimble neighbors in the competitiveness and investment stakes.
Growth in Malaysia's export-oriented economy looks set to fall to 3.4 percent next year, the lowest since 2001. The budget deficit has soared due to spending on fuel subsidies and national infrastructure projects, according to the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research, a leading think-tank.
Najib has been in parliament since the tender age of 22 when he took over the seat of his father, who died in office. He has held posts in the sports, education and defense ministries and now holds the powerful finance portfolio.
His father Abdul Razak Hussein designed Malaysia's race-based system which was supposed to help ethnic Malays climb the economic ladder and compete against the more entrepreneurial ethnic Chinese population. His uncle, Hussein Onn is credited with forging unity among the races during his premiership.
Najib's family links run to the heart of politics and business; his cousin is education minister and his younger brother Nazir runs Malaysia's second-largest bank CIMB.
Najib's recent move on the top job has been marked by continued attacks on his integrity by the opposition and by Internet bloggers obsessed with a lurid murder trial that involved Najib's former aide. The aide was acquitted, but not before Najib had to issue statements denying involvement.
Many political observers believe Najib may simply owe too much to too many people to stake out a separate political identity. He still needs to win a party election to take the top job, although he appears to have no real competition.
"He (Najib) was coddled and helped all along, first by his uncle Hussein Onn and then by Mahathir, the man who owed a debt of gratitude to his father," said Zainon Ahmad, political editor of the local Sun newspaper.
"Only now I think Najib has to be on his own," he said.
When he took the reins of power in 2003, current prime minister Abdullah looked like a tonic for a country that had grown tired of Mahathir's 22-year rule.
Mahathir dragged Malaysia toward developed nation status, oversaw the building of the iconic Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, and guided the country through the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Yet his long rule was also criticized for the growth of cronyism and its failure to help poor Malays.
Abdullah seemed to have laid the ghost of Mahathir to rest in 2004 when the Barisan Nasional coalition, led by his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party, scored its biggest election success on promises to end corruption.
That success turned to dust in elections in March this year when the opposition stunned the government by depriving it of its customary two-thirds majority in parliament, which means it can no longer automatically change the country's constitution.
Mahathir has since turned on Abdullah, sniping from the sidelines when the premier canceled some of his massive infrastructure projects. He resigned from UMNO, swearing not to return until Abdullah was ousted.
Source:
" Najib has much to do " - New Straits Times, Singapore.
" Family ties take root in Malaysian politics " - Reuter.
Najib Razak, the 55-year-old son of Malaysia's second premier and the nephew of the third, will take the helm in March at a time when this Asian nation of 27 million people grapples with economic problems and rising political and ethnic tensions.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi swept into office in 2003 promising a host of changes. Five years down the line, it is these same promises that have led to his downfall as a disillusioned public punished him for failing to meet expectations.
As Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak prepares to take over next March, he will be anxious to avoid the same pitfalls.
Najib took an unassailable lead in the nominations for the Umno presidency, and will become its president at the party assembly in March. By convention, the Umno president is also Malaysia's prime minister.
So by April, Mr Najib will be set to become Malaysia's sixth prime minister.
With the top job virtually his, the focus has switched to public expectations of Najib's leadership.
He will come into office without the burden of overly high expectations, if only because his public image has already been badly dented by endless allegations over corruption and sex scandals.
He is also coming into office as Malaysia is about to enter a painful economic downturn, following the impact of the global financial crisis. Steep falls in the global prices of oil and commodities spell slower growth next year and a sharp cutback in government expenditure.
Najib will announce a package of economic measures today. Many in the private sector want to see the government use this opportunity to liberalise elements of the pro-Malay affirmative action policies under the New Economic Policy (NEP) that are seen as hampering economic recovery. This, in particular, involves the 30 per cent quota of Malay ownership of public-listed companies which has deterred foreign investment.
In a recent TV interview, Mr Najib said he was working towards the gradual liberalisation of the NEP, as and when Malays begin to feel more confident of competing with others domestically and globally.
There will be nothing easy for Najib. The economy is in danger of crashing. He has to deal with five states in opposition hands, without a two-thirds majority in Parliament
If Malaysians or foreigners expect Najib to be like his father as PM, they will be greatly disappointed.
Najib, who has a bachelor's degree in economics, will take over at a time when a re-energized opposition led by Anwar is seeking to gain power and when economic growth is skidding due to global financial turmoil.
Adding to his troubles, Najib will need to address Malaysia's failure to keep up with more nimble neighbors in the competitiveness and investment stakes.
Growth in Malaysia's export-oriented economy looks set to fall to 3.4 percent next year, the lowest since 2001. The budget deficit has soared due to spending on fuel subsidies and national infrastructure projects, according to the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research, a leading think-tank.
Najib has been in parliament since the tender age of 22 when he took over the seat of his father, who died in office. He has held posts in the sports, education and defense ministries and now holds the powerful finance portfolio.
His father Abdul Razak Hussein designed Malaysia's race-based system which was supposed to help ethnic Malays climb the economic ladder and compete against the more entrepreneurial ethnic Chinese population. His uncle, Hussein Onn is credited with forging unity among the races during his premiership.
Najib's family links run to the heart of politics and business; his cousin is education minister and his younger brother Nazir runs Malaysia's second-largest bank CIMB.
Najib's recent move on the top job has been marked by continued attacks on his integrity by the opposition and by Internet bloggers obsessed with a lurid murder trial that involved Najib's former aide. The aide was acquitted, but not before Najib had to issue statements denying involvement.
Many political observers believe Najib may simply owe too much to too many people to stake out a separate political identity. He still needs to win a party election to take the top job, although he appears to have no real competition.
"He (Najib) was coddled and helped all along, first by his uncle Hussein Onn and then by Mahathir, the man who owed a debt of gratitude to his father," said Zainon Ahmad, political editor of the local Sun newspaper.
"Only now I think Najib has to be on his own," he said.
When he took the reins of power in 2003, current prime minister Abdullah looked like a tonic for a country that had grown tired of Mahathir's 22-year rule.
Mahathir dragged Malaysia toward developed nation status, oversaw the building of the iconic Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, and guided the country through the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Yet his long rule was also criticized for the growth of cronyism and its failure to help poor Malays.
Abdullah seemed to have laid the ghost of Mahathir to rest in 2004 when the Barisan Nasional coalition, led by his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party, scored its biggest election success on promises to end corruption.
That success turned to dust in elections in March this year when the opposition stunned the government by depriving it of its customary two-thirds majority in parliament, which means it can no longer automatically change the country's constitution.
Mahathir has since turned on Abdullah, sniping from the sidelines when the premier canceled some of his massive infrastructure projects. He resigned from UMNO, swearing not to return until Abdullah was ousted.
Source:
" Najib has much to do " - New Straits Times, Singapore.
" Family ties take root in Malaysian politics " - Reuter.
Labels: Malaysia
posted by Ah Yun Wong at
7:28 PM
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