NEM = pirated ideas; can Najib be trusted to realise them? What does the track record say?

by Nathaniel Tan,

Pakatan leads the way again, and Najib tries to follow suit.

I suppose APCO and gang must be telling the PM that the non race-based model that Pakatan has been touting for years now has been right all along, prompting him to use the exact same language Anwar has used in every imaginable forum almost since he’s been out of jail.

I think the key question of the NEM is (beyond the fact perhaps, that it is mere rhetoric with little details), is Najib the man to make this rhetoric reality?

What can we say of his track record?

I think the closest thing we can compare this to is 1Malaysia – which is a similar plan by APC… I mean, Najib, to articulate a vision for the nation.

As with the NEM, the rhetoric is neutral (if pirated) and designed to sound nice; but what of the reality?

Despite the 1Malaysia sloganeering, we have seen cow head protests, massive uproars and violence over the mishandling of the Allah issue, and the rise of Perkasa.

Nothing to do with Najib? I’m not so sure. Under dynamic leadership, I would say one would see less of this – and the government has had a direct involvement in creating the Allah controversy in the first place.

So, can we expect the NEM to be any better?

It talks of race-blind assistance to the truly poor, but this is Umno we are talking about.

Umno and Najib have spent decades plundering resources meant for the poor; have they suddenly bertaubat (repented) and seen the light?

Mahathir spoke of how Malays are still economically behind. Ironic, given that if this is true, it can only mean the complete and utter failure of Mahathir, Abdullah, Najib and Umno to uplift the Malays.

Why did they fail? Because they and others like them have stolen shamelessly from those they claim to help (think the RM 52 billion in shares).

It makes sense too, because if they truly did help the Malays achieve equality, what use would there be for a Malay-based party?

Also, I think it’s safe to say that Umno would never have walked down this path if not for the intense pressure from Pakatan. They probably don’t even want to walk down this path now, and are likely only paying lip service.

Well, we’ll be watching.