By FMT StaffKUALA LUMPUR: A former Umno state assemblyman has cautioned Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to tread carefully about calling a snap election.
He advised the premier to be wary of “overzealous news carriers” claiming that the time had come to bring out the ballot boxes.
“The recent victories in Galas and Batu Sapi (by-elections) were no indicators of a changing tide in people's affection,” said Mohd Arrif Sabri in his blog, Sakmongkol AK47.
“Galas was won on account of Tengku Razaleigh (Hamzah). Batu Sapi's victory leaves a sour after taste. (Umno vice-president) Shafie Apdal worked hard to deliver victory at Batu Sapi. Good for him, though not necessarily for Barisan Nasional,” he added
The former Pulau Manis state assemblyman, whose seat was under Najib's Pekan parliamentary constituency, said the people were looking for success stories. “Where are they?” he asked.
Focusing on two events involving Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, he said: “Success at carrying out an Islamic fashion show in Monaco doesn't conjure a feel-good approval.”
Rosmah was the patron of the Islamic festival held in Monte Carlo last month.
“Those attending the Bakti bash the other day were also not impressed by the attendance of Shahrukh Khan and a bevy of Bollywood beauties gracing the event,” added Mohd Arrif.
Bakti is the association of wives of ministers and deputy ministers, which is headed by Rosmah.
Mohd Arrif said while the people respected the concern of the Sultan of Selangor over the RM300,000 dinner party by the state-owned Yayasan Selangor, they were also eager to know how much the spenders had spent on the Islamic fashion show in Monaco or the same event at St Regis New York.
“Can Jamie Fox, Robert Deniro or Charlize Theron provide any semblance of accreditation that Islamic fashion has arrived? These elaborate public relation exercises are too far removed from the exacting demands of life and reality in Malaysia,” he added.
Umno, byword for arrogance
According to Mohd Arrif, the people wanted to see a purge of the Umno leadership, since the party's name had now become a byword for “arrogance and detachment from reality”.
“Staying in power isn't the result of only Umno people voting. It's the people. You go around, they still utter expletives against Umno. To me this signifies a general attitude that is worrying.
“What are people looking for? First, they want to see an Umno leadership composed of young or old committed to the greater good of society. They simply want good men at the helm...,” he added.
The Umno man, who is trained in economics, said the people also had their eyes peeled on the economy.
“With the appreciation of our currency, our exports will become relatively more expensive and we can expect export earnings to shrink. In major towns, the price of homes is getting more expensive by the day. In Selangor, Malays are selling their houses in Taman Tun because of better price. With this demographic shift, Umno-BN can forget about regaining Selangor,” he said.
'Arrest two or three ministers'
Mohd Arrif also stressed that the main scourge of this country was still corruption at almost every level of government and among political leaders.
“In Hong Kong, the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) will check bank accounts of top government officers including former top cops to see if they had accumulated money beyond their salaries. Would that happen in Malaysia?
“The best thing that could shore up Najib's credibility and seriousness was to arrest two or three ministers,” he said.
Mohd Arrif also cautioned Umno against making a decision on the perceived weakness of PKR and Pakatan Rakyat, saying that the opposition party was merely going through a phase of bloodletting.
“They would regroup and reunite. Don't use Zaid Ibrahim as a yardstick. If he forms another political party, he would fade into oblivion. His only chance to stand as candidate would probably be as PAS candidate.
“Zaid made the mistake of forgetting why PKR was formed in the first place, having as one of its core missions, seeking justice for Anwar. It's in their DNA and Zaid just cannot wish this away,” he said.
In view of this, Mohd Arrif called on Umno to decide on the basis of its own strength.
“This involves an honest evaluation of the readiness of the combat troops on the ground, the acceptance of the people of Umno and BN and putting up winnable candidates.
“The government in addition must earn the respect of the public. It must show some success stories. The public is weary of empty promises. They now want action."
"The clamouring is in line with Najib's commitment to uphold rule of law and imposing zero tolerance on corruption,” he said.The Umno politician also lamented that every avenue of government spending was seen as a chance to skim the fat.
“The purchase of laptop computers which could be gotten at maybe RM200 from China are sold at RM1,000 apiece. A project such as building the new LCCT2 would incur cost overruns. Those people doing the costing and the quantity surveyors must have been boozed out of their heads to undercost the project the first time around.
“The purchase of capital items seems to be always overpriced because it incorporates the tea money meant for retiring KSUs (secretaries-general of ministries) and so forth. A former KSU of the home ministry sits on the board of the Lotus group and you wonder how on earth Lotus restaurants get unlimited supply of foreign workers,” he said.
“So, please Mr Prime Minister be your own counsel. You have been at this game since 1976. You are better at reading the tea leaves than others,” he added.
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