Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Dr M turns his back on Muhyiddin?

When Barisan Nasional was battered blue and black in the 2008 electoral bout, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Tun Razak hammered the final nail into Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s political coffin.

During Abdullah’s five-year tenure as prime minister, Mahathir had launched an unrelenting wave of vitriolic salvos against his handpicked successor whom he branded as incompetent.

Under the influence of his ambitious son-in-law, Abdullah, who was meant to be a seat warmer in the wake of the controversy surrounding the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim, started formulating grand plans of his own, much to the chagrin of Mahathir.

Fearful that his legacy would be dismantled and his cronies sidelined, a bitter Mahathir had even quit Umno Baru, the party which he founded in 1987 following the old Umno’s de-registration.

Mahathir’s antics in the run up to the 2008 polls had ripped Umno apart and contributed to BN’s dismal performance.

His detractors believe that Mahathir, who ruled with an iron fist for more than two decades, suffers from megalomania and considers himself to be Malaysia’s greatest boon.

And while his craftiness in statecraft is indisputable, critics however consider the 87-year-old former premier to be the nation’s greatest bane.

His departure from power was celebrated by the voters in the 2004 election, which saw Abdullah securing BN’s biggest ever mandate.

No other alternative

With Abdullah out of the picture, Mahathir trained his crosshairs on Najib. It is an open secret that he disagreed with the new prime minister’s ‘soft approach’.

Prior to the 2013 general election, there were rumours that Umno warlords were moving in for the kill but Mahathir had told them to stand down until after the election.

Speculation was rife that Mahathir was backing Umno No 2 Muhyiddin Yassin.

And when BN performed even worse in this polls compared to its previous debacle, observers expected the ‘Double M’ juggernaut to steamroll Najib.

However, speaking in Tokyo over the weekend, Mahathir said that BN had no choice but to continue backing the incumbent.

“I think the party will support him [Najib] because of a lack of an alternative,” he said, suggesting to those who read between the lines that he no longer saw Muhyiddin as a viable option.

Mahathir had also said that the results of the election showed that Malaysia had become more divided than unified.

“We are still striving to bring the races together,” he said, calling unity an “uphill task.”

“Because of this racial polarisation, Najib couldn’t get Chinese votes,” he added.

An ironic statement

Some observers find the above statement to be ironic since Mahathir was considered to be one of the chief causes of racial divisiveness in Malaysia.

He became the patron of Perkasa, an ultra Malay movement, whose leader Ibrahim Ali had called for the torching of bibles at an event in the presence of Mahathir.

The former premier, whose paternal roots are in India, had even questioned the granting of citizenship to the Chinese and Indians.

Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had once described Mahathir as suffering from an inferiority complex due to his Indian heritage.

“You know his grandfather came from India. His father is half Indian or three-quarters Indian. Then his father came to Alor Setar and married a Malay and so he is half or three-quarters Malay and one quarter Indian. But nevertheless, he has felt a certain, you know, as if they looked down on him.

“To overcome that inferiority complex, which as I told you before is the worst disease a man can have, you would do things you wouldn’t normally do,” Tunku had said.

The progressive elements in BN and Umno consider Mahathir to be a political liability and blame him for being one of the major factors behind the non-Malay voters’ disenchantment with the ruling coalition. -FMT

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  1. Barisan Nasional has no choice but to continue supporting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, even after losing a majority of the popular vote in May 5 elections, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

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  2. "I think the party will support him because of a lack of an alternative," Mahathir, 87, said at the Foreign Correspondents'

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  3. Barisan extended its 55-year rule, winning 133 seats in the 222-member parliament as support for ethnic-Chinese component parties in the ruling alliance dwindled.

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  4. The opposition rejected Najib's analysis of the poll outcome in racial terms, a sensitive topic in a country where hundreds were killed in Sino-Malay riots in 1969 after an election.

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  5. Dr Mahathir said the results of the election showed that Malaysia has become more divided than unified.

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  6. Datuk Seri Najib Razak appeared today to admit that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad still wields a strong influence over the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, pointing out that the country’s longest serving prime minister is “watching over him”.

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  7. “He got the easy task, (but) I got the difficult task,” the Najib joked.
    “He announced ... made the vision, (but) I had to fill up his vision. Because he’s still watching over me.”

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  8. The veteran statesman has remained in the public eye since his exit from the forefront of Umno politics in October 2003, but has been more prominent in the spotlight of late, seemingly in his attempt to shore up support for BN ahead of the polls

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  9. But the outspoken Dr Mahathir has made it known that he was campaigning to keep Umno and BN alive, even though it meant trumpeting policies by Najib that he has oftentimes admitted he disagreed with.

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  10. Opposition leaders have been criticising Umno and Najib for fearing Dr Mahathir’s influence and therefore, refusing to shut him up, and have warned that the former prime minister’s sometimes radical remarks may frighten off Najib’s middle ground support.

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  11. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called on the people to support the Prime Minister's initiative for national reconciliation following the outcome of the 13th general election.

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  12. The Barisan Nasional deputy chairman said the racial polarisation in the voting trend was unhealthy in a multi-racial society and could result in political instability.

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  13. Therefore, we must take stock of how we can chart the nation's political future on the basis of understanding, unity and stronger co-operation between races,”

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  14. Muhyiddin urged Malaysians to join Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to create a more united, prosperous and progressive nation so that the country could achieve its aim to become a high-income, developed nation by 2020.

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  15. Barisan Nasional was humbled by the trust given by the people to continue to lead the country and pledged that the coalition would always be ready to listen to the voice of the people and accept any advice and criticisms so that it could provide the best service.

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  16. “I would also like to congratulate Najib who as chairman of Barisan has successfully led the coalition to victory. In the past four years, he has worked hard and dedicated his heart and soul to ensure Barisan wins.-Muhyiddin yassin

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  17. Muhyiddin called on Malaysians to reunite and put aside their differences, adding that the Barisan respected the decision by voters who chose to support the Opposition.

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  18. In the spirit of accountability as a government picked by the people, the Barisan Nasional (BN) is always prepared to listen to the people and accept their advice and criticism in providing the best service to them, said BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

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  19. The mandate given by the people to continue helming the nation was a huge trust which must be carried out properly.

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  20. "We have made an undertaking to the people in our 13th general election (GE13) manifesto, which, God willing, we will carry out to the best of our ability.

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  21. "With the mandate too, the BN government will be able to continue its transformation efforts, and, God willing, we can achieve the aspiration of becoming a developed nation with high income by 2020,"

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  22. Congratulating Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who took his oath of office as Prime Minister today, he said the BN chairman had successfully led the coalition to victory in GE13.

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  23. "Indeed in the last four years, he had worked very hard by making great sacrifices to ensure BN wins.

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  24. "As such, it is appropriate that all BN members give a strong support to Datuk Seri Najib to continue helming the party and government,"

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  25. Muhyiddin, who also expressed his thanks to people on giving of mandate to enable the BN to govern the country for the next five years, said the outcome of the general election showed racial polarisation in the voting tren

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  26. "This is unhealthy in a multi-racial society like Malaysia. We cannot allow one community supporting one side and another race supporting another,"

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  27. According to Muhyiddin, if it was allowed to continue it would lead to tension in inter-racial relations and political instability.

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  28. In this regard, Muhyiddin urged all quarters to look into themselves to together shape the future of national politics in the mould of a stronger inter-racial understanding, unity and cooperation.

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  29. He also urged the people to be together with the Prime Minister to create a Malaysia which was more united, prosperous and progressive.

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  30. The move was important because in seven years, all races regardless of religion must be of one heart to make national transformation successful to enable Malaysia to achieve its aim of becoming a developed, high income nation.

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  31. In the meantime, he appealed to all Malaysians regardless of race, religion and political ideology to reunite.

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  32. "Forget all disputes during the general election and treat them as part and parcel of the maturing democratic process which the people in our country are undergoing,"

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  33. Muhyiddin also urged the opposition to respect the decision of the people which had given the mandate to BN to head the nation and administer the states it had won, as BN respected and accepted the decision of the people in the states won by the opposition.

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  34. He also thanked the leaders of the component parties of BN, all BN machinery, supporters of the party and all quarters who had contributed to the victory of BN whether directly or indirectly

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  35. Change is imminent and Barisan Nasional has to adapt if it wants to continue to be relevant, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

    He said the political landscape would continue to undergo significant change due to several factors.

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  36. "Among the elements that will bring forth changes are urbanisation, better standards of living and access to information and communication technology.

    "Nothing is constant. Whether it is quick or not, change will happen," said Najib.

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  37. He said that was why the party had to adapt its strategy and change with the times.

    "We cannot assume what we used before will be a suitable recipe for the future. We must be open, be pragmatic not dogmatic, solve problems and not deny them. Only if we act this way, Barisan will continue to be relevant," said Najib.

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  38. Najib said with each elections, the ruling party would face even tougher challenges.

    "The fact that we are in power now does not mean it is a passport to our victory forever," he said.

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  39. Datuk Seri Najib Razak hari ini berkata meningkatkan kualiti tadbir urus dan integriti merentas semua segmen adalah antara bidang tumpuan baharu kerajaan.

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  40. Perdana menteri berkata, selain itu, kerajaan akan memperhebatkan usaha memerangi gejala rasuah dan salah guna kuasa.

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  41. Najib berkata, untuk membuktikan keseriusan iltizam kerajaan dalam menangani isu tadbir urus, integriti dan rasuah, kerajaan telah merangka sebuah pelan integriti yang bersifat merentas batas dan menyeluruh.

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  42. Butiran mengenai pelaksanaan khusus pelan ini akan saya umumkan dalam masa terdekat," katanya

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  43. Najib seterusnya berkata kerajaan tidak akan berdikit dalam usaha meningkatkan kualiti tadbir urus dan integriti serta komitmen lain.

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  44. Rakyat Tuanku telah bersuara dan menyatakan keutamaan yang sepatutnya diperjuangkan oleh kerajaan Tuanku. Menjadi tugas dan tanggungjawab kami untuk menunaikan amanah tersebut dengan cara terbaik," kata perdana menteri.

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  45. Najib mengangkat sumpah jawatan perdana menteri pada 6 Mei lalu selepas Barisan Nasional kekal berkuasa dengan memenangi 133 daripada 222 kerusi parlimen bagi membentuk kerajaan persekutuan yang baharu dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13 lalu.

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  46. Beliau berkata, dalam tempoh lima tahun akan datang, kerajaan akan meningkatkan pelaksanaan Dasar Transformasi Nasional ke arah memastikan pertumbuhan ekonomi negara terus mampan, inflasi dan kos kehidupan menurun, kadar pengganguran rendah dan kadar jenayah terkawal.

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  47. Selain itu, kerajaan akan turut berusaha memastikan akses kepada pendidikan berkualiti yang saksama, mengecilkan jurang prasarana mahupun pendapatan warga bandar serta luar bandar, kadar pelaburan asing dan domestik yang sihat, serta daya saing nasional terus meningkat.

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  48. Semua rancangan yang telah dirangka tidak akan berjaya tanpa sokongan semua rakyat Malaysia. Ia tidak harus menjadi agenda kerajaan semata-mata tetapi wajib menjadi misi semua pihak.

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  49. Marilah kita bersama-sama melakar masa depan baharu dan lebih baik untuk kita dan anak-anak kita," kata Najib

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  50. Following the success of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP 1.0), the government will embark on another GTP effort to alleviate the immediate concerns of the rakyat, with regard to the provision of public services.

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  51. the GTP 2.0 which covers the period 2013 to 2015, will focus on a broader section of society, as well as leverage on non-governmental organisations (NGO) and the corporate sector as strategic partners in the provision of services.

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  52. Each ministry has identified new goals which are aligned to the aspirations under the National Transformation Policy (NTP)

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  53. The GTP, introduced as the government’s effort in addressing the immediate concerns of the rakyat with regard to public services, was launched on Jan 28 2010 and would conclude at the end of this year.

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  54. Under the three-year implementation of the GTP 1.0, seven National Key Result Areas (NKRA) were introduced, of which according to the GTP Annual Report 2011, each NKRA had achieved composite scores of over 100 percent and some RM700 million in savings garnered

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  55. The result of the targets and achivements were also made available via the GTP Annual Report 2011.

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  56. The seven NKRAs are aimed at reducing crimes, fighting corruption, improving students outcome, raising living standards of the low- income household, improving rural basic infrastructure, improving urban public transport and addressing the rising cost of living.

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  57. the seven NKRAs will continue to provide the framework to establish and track achievements of the milestones.

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  58. The initiatives in the GTP 2.0 are the result of several intensive engagements involving all stakeholders to ensure that the transformation plan is comprehensive, the report said.

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  59. The engagement process for the design and implimentation of the GTP Roadmap 2.0 includes an intensive six- week brainstorming session with key stakeholders to find ideas that best fit the overall theme of the GTP.

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