NAJIB U THE MAN

I think I am finally understanding the man. When Najib Tun Razak took over for Tun Abdullah Badawi as Malaysia's sixth Prime Minister, many including yours truly did not have much hope of him doing a better job than his immediate predecessor. During Abdullah's tenure, BN showed a poor performance - losing the two-third majority in Parliament and lost the States of Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah to Pakatan Rakyat. The growing support for the opposition in 2008 was seen as the start of BN downfall. The voters gave up on Pak Lah who came under barrage of fires not just from the Opposition but even BN leaders led by none other then his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Najib inherited a troubled government, infested with corruption, weak leadership and a weakening economy. The Chinese voters practically threw their support to the Opposition and has remained steadfast with DAP and other opposition parties when they saw BN was weakening. Najib knew all this. He also knew that the good old days style of running the Government like under the then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir was over. The voters are now more sophisticated and unafraid. They know that racial riot like the May 1969 will not reoccur. People have grown wiser and more tolerant. Even the Malays admit that some of the privileges they enjoyed have to be shared by other races too. Hence, it came as no surprise when Najib started to make popular announcements, pleasing most quarters. Nevertheless, the hawkish members of UMNO are not happy. They prefer the status quo to remain. Quietly, they embarked on whispering campaigns to pressure Najib to stop making further changes that they perceived could erode their influence in the party and among the voters. So far, Najib has withstood the pressure and continued to make the changes necessary to ensure that BN remain relevant and can win the next general election. It is no easy task for the man. But, he must continue to make the changes. Also, he has to spread his influence further among party members who can determine that he continue to lead UMNO as its president. Although some UMNO leaders can be stubborn and unreasonable, most of the party members are rationale and will support him. He must continue to make tough decision, including removing cabinet members that have become liability to his leadership. He may lose some support, but he would gain a lot of support among voters.