Time for Najib to let go as calls grow not to make him PM

The writing is on the wall. It is time for incoming Umno president Najib Abdul Razak to stand down. The calls are coming in fast and furious for the King to seriously consider a unity government, or another other acceptable alternative to appointing him Malaysia’s sixth prime minister.

Said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International Malaysia: “A unity government - a form of power-sharing between the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat - would be the ideal at this current stage of national development and particularly in the face of the looming economic crisis.”

Zaid Ibrahim, the well-respected former Law Minister, too did not mince words when he asked the King to review alternatives other than the scandal-plagued Najib.

“There is no constitutional obligation on His Majesty to appoint the president of Umno as the prime minister. There are still well qualified Members of Parliament from Umno who can be appointed PM to bring us back from the brink,” Zaid said in a speech to the Rotary Club.

Both he and Ramon are the latest to openly express the wishes of a large majority of Malaysians, who do not want the 55-year old Najib to lead the country. Other prominent leaders who have done the same in recent weeks include top civil society groups, Islamic leaders and opposition politicians.

“A prime minister must have the confidence of the majority of the rakyat. For this to be the case there cannot be anything in the mind of the greater public that, correctly or otherwise, associates him with matters of criminality, wrongful action, improper conduct or abuses of power,” Zaid stressed.

Distrust

The greatest grouse that Malaysians have against Najib is that they simply don’t trust him. This despite the fact that most have known him since he was 22 years old, when his father, the second prime minister died, and he was spring-boarded into the national leadership.

Protected by his mentor, Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysians could only frown at the eldest son of the late Tun Razak, when allegations of graft surfaced throughout his 33-year political career.

But as they say - spare the rod and spoil the child. If one were to gauge by the number of misconduct complaints piling up against him, Najib has only gotten worse with time.

Not only has he become entangled in a high-profile sex-and-commission scandal involving murdered Mongolian translator, Altantuya Shaariibuu, he has also been resorting to heavy-handed use of the police, the courts and even Parliament to stay in power - the same oppressive methods that Mahathir used to employ.

“I can only say that Najib is getting more and more worried. The situation for him is still very uncertain and fluid. The only thing that is clear though is that the people are very uncomfortable about him leading the country,” said Pakatan Rakyat leader Tian Chua.

Six months ‘probation’ confirmed nation’s worst fears

Barely six months ago, Najib was the hope of Umno. The shock loss of a long-held two-thirds parliamentary majority created insecurity and fear that bordered on mass hysteria in the once-mighty party.

Najib played his hand well, taking advantage of the leadership vacuum present. Egged on by a Mahathir eager to return to power, an internal rebellion was hatched that culminated in Abdullah being forced to take responsibility for the poor electoral performance. The 68-year old Pak Lah accepted early retirement and is due to step down early next month, although his term officially ends only in 2013.

But the fear that gripped Umno and the Malay community has since been dissipating. Malaysians, including the Malays, have learnt to appreciate the advantages of a two-party system. They have become aware that the checks and balances wrought by the rivalry of two large political coalitions actually work to their benefit.

Now, what they fear is Najib. In a bid to stay on top, he has become increasing aggressive. Knowing that his popularity was on the slide, Najib tried to regain the respect of his community by staging a power grab in Perak state, against the wishes of the majority of Perakians.

But the political crisis there - just as in the rest of the country - has gotten out of hand and a prolonged impasse looks likely unless he recapitulates and accepts the wishes of the people.

Said Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah: “BN has the numbers in Parliament to hold onto the federal government without reaching out to the Opposition, but without some kind of a unity government solution, at least in the interim, the Malaysian rakyat will not have a government that can do more than hang on grimly to a deteriorating status quo.”

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country

Other clampdowns have followed, including a bold but again misguided purge in his own party aimed at weeding out Abdullah loyalists such as vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam. More can be expected if Najib insists on clinging to power.

But instead of helping him, the suppressions have sparked even greater public condemnation. For example, the recent suspension of Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo for daring to question him about Altantuya served only to lower him in the esteem of the nation and create greater suspicion about his involvement with her.

Another crackdown - this time against bloggers and netizens of cyberspace for insulting the Perak Sultan - was immediately denounced by Amnesty International. “This development is a serious blow to the freedom of expression in Malaysia. For a country that claims to be on the cutting edge of communications technology, this is a very troubling step backward,” said AI director Sam Zarifi.

Nothing that Najib does seems to be right, everything is wrong. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why. Hard as it may be for him to accept - the people just do not want him to be their prime minister. Even though they may have known him for more than three decades.

Yes, the truth does hurt. But it is high time that he comes to terms with the fact that as far as they are concerned, he is just another Malaysian - the same as they are. Not super-born to rule just because of who his dad was, not super-empowered to bully just because his mentor was lucky enough to get away with it.

The time has indeed come for him to call it a day. That would be his best contribution to his country as it sits on the brink, and Malaysia is well and truly sitting on the very, very brink. -SuaraKeadilan