Less than 3 years in to his term as a 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak has already been showered with a accolade of "Bapa Transformasi" courtesy of his most transformation programs. The litany of acronyms compared with Najib is identical to a everlasting alphabet soup GTP, ETP, PTP, NEM, NKEA, NKRA, NEAC, EPP, SRIs.
One roughly needs a reference compendium to keep lane of them. But notwithstanding his most programs, he is still very, really distant from being a transformative Prime Minister. And his most programs have been still very, really distant from being transformative.
On a eve of what will be a most firmly contested ubiquitous election in a history, Najib has shown a greater willingness to have U-Turns when faced with tough decisions that would have done Malaysia in to a some-more progressive, liberal as well as vibrant country.
His assorted transformation programs have been zero some-more than expensive tax funded PR exercises that masks a commercial operation as well as governing body as common way of you do things that is taking place during a back of a scenes inside of a corridors of Putrajaya as well as inside of UMNO's headquarters during PWTC.
Before Najib can consequence a title of 'Bapa Transformasi', he needs to uncover that he is not 'Bapa U-Turn' first.
Najib's U-Turn upon Religious Freedom in Malaysia makes a hoax of his 1 Malaysia Slogan
Lets begin with a most comfortless U-turns done by a Prime Minister. Najib done a total hoax of his 1 Malaysia aphorism when he not usually un! successf ul to respect a High Court statute opposite a Home Ministry for banning a Herald, a publication of a Catholic Church in Malaysia, for regulating a word Allah, he done counts worse by appearing to condone protests opposite this ruling.
The result was an rare 10 attacks opposite churches (four in a Klang Valley, a single in Taiping, dual in Negeri Sembilan, a single in Melaka, a single in Johor, a single in Miri), an conflict opposite a Sikh church (in KL) as well as a single surau in Klang.
Najib could have done a right thing by not delectable opposite a preference of a High Court. Instead, he authorised his Attorney General to appeal this decision. Meanwhile, he tried to do damage control by contributing supports to a Metro Tabernacle church in Kajang, that was badly damaged by a petrol bomb.
This emanate would lift a nauseous head again in March 2011, only prior to a Sarawak state elections when law officials refused to release 30,000 Indonesian bibles in Kuching as well as 5100 Indonesian bibles in Port Klang.
All this could have been prevented if Najib had not U-turned upon his 1 Malaysia aphorism though had reputable a right of Christians, generally a native populations in Sabah as well as Sarawak, to use a word Allah, as they have done for generations.
Najib's meeting with a Pope as well as his push for a Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) have been zero though empty gestures if a simple eremite freedoms of Malaysian Christians have been not respected.
Shocking cowardice
Najib's U-Turn upon a New Economic Model shows that he is afraid of taking upon groups identical to Perkasa in sequence to fundamentally transform a economy
Part 1 of a New Economic Model (NEM) was widely praised by a cross-section of society given it emphasized marketplace accessible certain movement programs that would target a bottom 40% of households, a vast infancy of whom have been Bumiputera.
One of a vital initiatives required for this process to be implemented was a investiture of an Equal Opportunities Commission to 'ensure fairness as well as address undue taste where occasional abuses by dominant groups have been counter'.
Instead of ancillary Part 1 of a NEM, Najib caved in to pressures from Perkasa as well as re-instated a denunciation of a NEP in a 10th Malaysian Plan. The denunciation of marketplace accessible certain movement policies was significantly watered down in a concluding part of a NEM.
More significantly, a Equal Opportunities Commission was shelved most to a disappointed of a late Dr Zainal Aznam Yusof, a part of of a National Economic Advisory Council was drafted a NEM.
Where bravery was required, Najib instead select a trail of cowardice.
If a proposals of a NEM were carried out in a comprehensive manner, a country would have been put upon a trail towards fundamental as well as required mercantile transformation.
Instead, what you have seen is a miss of domestic will as well as bravery to do a economically required in preference of domestic expediency.
Perkasa as well as Utusan
We have seen Najib creation identical U-turns in preference of domestic expediency given he is scared of groups identical to Perkasa as well as additionally of elements inside of his own party, UMNO.
He unsuccessful to rein in a UMNO owned newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, that done baseless accusations opposite a antithesis as well as civil society groups as well as people in sequence to create fright as well as feeling of ill-will in between a Malays towards a non-Malays.
His wife, Datin Seri Rosmah, was additionally a g! uest of respect during a brand new comment raising dinner for Perkasa, lending await to a indictment that Perkasa is an arm of UMNO.
This usually goes to uncover that Najib will usually be as well glad to have serve U-turns when any of these groups protest opposite mercantile policies that have been in a interest of a country as a whole though not in their own narrow mercantile interests.
Government knows best
Najib's U-Turns upon Economic Policies makes a hoax of his matter that 'the era of supervision knows most appropriate is over"
Najib's predecessor Tun Abdullah Badawi done a hoax of a phrase 'Work with me, not for me'. Similarly, Najib is creation a hoax of his mostly repeated phrase that 'the era of supervision knows most appropriate is over'. So most of his supervision policies protest this truth that it would take a complete parliamentary event to list out as well as to debate. Here, I will only list a few for a courtesy of a Dewan.
The NEM outlines a strategy of supervision divestment in sequence to diminution a impasse of a supervision in a economy. But during a same time, you continue to see a investiture of brand new supervision agencies that have been involved in poignant sectors of a economy.
The most important of these is 1MDB that has no skill expansion knowledge or lane jot down whatsoever though has been given a mandate to rise dual vital parcels of budding land in a heart of Kuala Lumpur a site of a TUDM air bottom in Sungai Besi as well as a vital tract of land in between Jalan Tun Razak as well as Jalan Sultan Ismail.
Why did Najib not parcel out these lots of land around open proposal to a in isolation zone instead of handing these lots over to a supervision agency? The sale of these plots around open proposal would not usually lift some-more income for a supervision though additionally concede opposite players from a in isolation zone (including GLCs) that have some-more know! ledge in skill expansion to participate.
1MDB is not usually seeking during ventures in skill expansion though is additionally interested in opportunities in a energy, tourism as well as agri business. Most recently, 1MDB paid RM8.5 billion to acquire a power resources of Tanjong Energy Sdn Bhd from Ananda Krishnan.
Ekuinas as well as Teraju
Another initiative announced by Najib is a investiture of a RM500 million supervision owned in isolation equity comment called Ekuinas that has been tasked to take vital stakes in certain companies in sequence to enlarge bumiputera appearance in a economy.
Again, it is not clear how another supervision group can supplement worth to a most already existent programs including most that have been run by assorted supervision ministries can minister to a idea of augmenting bumiputera appearance in a economy.
Yet another group called TERAJU, endowed with RM2 billion in taxpayer funds, was established in sequence to promote even some-more Bumiputera appearance in a economy. Again, a single fails to see how another such group can supplement serve worth to this objective over a reach of existent programs as well as organizations.
These have been only a few examples of how Najib's actions have been a U-turn of his matter that "the era of supervision knows most appropriate is over".
Even Idris Jala has been infected!
Najib's inclination to have U-Turns has additionally infected Senator Idris Jala who now says that Malaysia is no longer in danger of being bankrupt
Senator Idris Jala, who is a CEO of PEMANDU, infamously warned that Malaysia would be bankrupt by 2019 if a country did not deviate from a spending patterns as well as diminution a dependence upon subsidies.
But in a brand new column, he seems to think that these dangers have subsided given 'by all measures a Malaysian supervision finance management ! have bee n good'.
Sadly, even a unqualified as well as apolitical veteran identical to Idris Jala cannot run divided from personification politics. The truth is that there have been even some-more reasons today for us to worry about a state of a supervision finance management compared to May 2010 when Idris initial done his dire warning.
Poor doing of economy
Our spending upon subsidies have essentially increasing from RM23.1 billion in 2010 to RM32.8 billion in 2011. Our spending upon sugarine subsidies have essentially doubled from RM262 million to RM567 million notwithstanding a fall in tellurian sugarine prices.
The government's handling output was projected to grow during 18.9% from 2010 to 2011 compared to income expansion of usually 14.9% in a same period. This handling output will grow even faster under a newly revised salary intrigue that a little reports indicate will cost a supervision an one more RM6 billion per annum.
And all this does not even take in to comment a rise in fortuitous liabilities due to a bonds that have been released by Prasarana for a LRT prolongation plan as well as a bonds that will be released by MRT Co for a large MRT project, by distant a largest open infrastructure plan in a nation's history.
At a same time, a manage to buy grew during 5.1% that is during a lower range of a 5% to 5.5% projected expansion rate by a Ministry of Finance. This is below a 6% target set by PEMANDU.
A poignant proportion of this expansion was driven by increases in supervision spending as well as supervision activity. For example, final supervision expenditure increasing by 16.8% in 2011 compared to a 6.9% enlarge in in isolation zone consumption.
During a same period, output of a supervision services zone grew by 11.6% compared to only 4.5% for a manufacturing zone as well as 6.8% for a complete services sector.
This kind of supervision zone led expansion is paten! tly not tolerable in a prolonged run given it is expansion in a in isolation zone that will minister to mercantile expansion as well as increasing tax revenues.
In alternative words, a country's open finance opinion has worsened over a past 1 1/2 years without any conspicuous improvement in a mercantile expansion opinion of a country, a Economic Transformation Program (ETP) not withstanding.
One cannot help though consternation if Senator Jala has spent as well most time with Prime Minister Najib as well as in you do so, has caught a U-Turn bug.
Lim Kit Siang is a DAP adviser as well as MP for Ipoh Timur
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