Had he had his fingers on the pulse of the people, Najib would have ensured the people are treated with respect, not ignored, victimised or browbeaten.
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Had he had his fingers on the pulse of the people, Najib would have ensured the people are treated with respect, not ignored, victimised or browbeaten.
COMMENT
The Malay-rights group Perkasa under its founder-leader Ibrahim Ali keeps threatening the non- Malays. Yet Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is conspicuously quiet. A Sikh participant of the Najib-brainchild national service cried foul that his hair had been snipped while he was asleep.
Even then Najib had nothing to say. The Indian community is saddened by the number of custodial deaths involving its youngsters. Still it makes no difference to Najib.
It is also the Indian community which is hoping the issue surrounding the novel Interlok is resolved with maturity. But Najib’s deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, is adamant that only the word “pariah” should be amended and the rest of the contents remain untouched, knowing full well this reflects disrespect to the Indians. Yet, both Muhyiddin and Najib are least concerned.
Last July, during his trip to Ulu Baram, Sarawak, Najib’s arrival was eagerly awaited by the Penan community, a visit promised by the premier. Out of the blue, Najib decided to abandon his meeting with the Penan community leaders as well as the rural folk there.
Why? Is Najib afraid the Penan community would lambast him for being indifferent to the rapes perpetrated against their girls and women by timber loggers? Or was the meeting with the community leaders called off because Najib thought the Penan community and rural residents were not worth his time?
The controversy surrounding the late Teoh Beng Hock has revealed Najib’s couldn’t-care-less attitude when he ignored any one of the seven names suggested by Teoh’s family to sit in as panel in the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
When Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud recently declared he is “fit” to rule the state for another term should he win the state’s April 16 election, Najib wholeheartedly agreed. A politician- leader so corrupt and inhumane like Taib gets Najib’s backing. Why?
Keeping a record of Najib’s indifference towards the sufferings faced by the people, the premier’s words that “the people are the true protectors of the leaders” are cold comfort. Were he sincere about it, Najib would make sure the people are treated with respect, not ignored, victimised or bullied by the “powers that be”.
What made Najib awaken to the fact that the people are really the guardians of the leaders? Was this remark part of his election rally propaganda to hoodwink the people and usurp their votes?
Shameless leaders
During his walkabout in Muar on March 26, Najib said while leaders in some countries used the back door to go up the stage, Malaysian leaders always used the front door. For Najib’s information, there is something called conscience and accountability, both of which are absent from the psyche of Malaysia’s so-called leaders.
That explains why the leaders of this country, almost all of them rich beyond their means, have no shame when taking the front door to reach the podium. Perhaps, it is also their bloated sense of importance that propels them to zoom pass the crowd, and the false sense of respect they seem to command.
In short, Malaysian leaders are “muka tak malu” or shameless politicians who know nothing but how to connive the people and amass as much wealth as possible. The people’s concerns and problems have no place in the hearts of these leaders.
The politicians of this country have yet to take up the cudgels, because they are too besotted with raking in as much wealth as possible, overlooking totally the reason for their becoming the people’s representatives.
If the people’s pleas had affected them, these leaders would waste no time in addressing their woes, with or without a Government Transformation Programme (GTP). The duty of leaders is to serve, not be served and unfortunately for Malaysia, the people are facing the latter.
In Najib’s estimation, leaders should not fear meeting the people if they truly had the people’s interest at heart and cared for them.
“It has been my principle to try to meet and shake hands with as many people as possible as I want to be close to them. If we can visit and meet them, we not only develop love and understanding, we will also see how government policies are implemented,” Najib told a gathering at Taman Tun Dr Ismail Dua in Sungai Abong, recently.
If that is so, why then did Najib refuse to meet the Penan community leaders during his visit to Sarawak in July last year? No doubt, it was a case of “cakap tak serupa bikin” or not walking the talk by Najib.
Shaking hands with an agenda
The public is not as naive as Najib presumes them to be. His “shake hands” strategy is not going to restore the faith of voters and bring in the massive votes the BN coalition lost in the last general election.
The fact that Najib realises the importance of meeting the people to know better how government policies work on the ground ends there. If this bit of reality holds any meaning to Najib, he would never have let the Penan community leaders in Ulu Baram down by declining to meet them.
The prime minister’s original itinerary showed that he had a full-day working visit to four Penan settlements when he visited Sarawak in July last year. Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu anak Numpang had, in announcing the visit, said Najib’s interest in meeting the Penan showed that he was a prime minister for all Malaysians.
“He is showing them that despite their small number in the country, the government remembers and cares for them,” Jabu had said.
Sarawak is home to 16,000 Penans, with the majority of them in Ulu Baram and in Ulu Belaga in the Kapit Division, with some 37% still leading nomadic lives.
Obviously, Jabu had laid it thick by trying to create a favourable impression of Najib who, in 2009, had made several official visits to Sarawak after assuming the premiership. Najib’s visit in July last year would have been his first venturing into the interior reaches of Sarawak.
Had Najib not strayed from his original schedule and kept to his word, he would have won the people’s trust and support for fulfilling a promise made during an earlier visit when Najib said he wanted to have a first-hand look at the more far-flung areas of the state.
Najib’s ‘fixed deposit’
Najib has described Sarawak and Sabah as his “fixed deposit”, in that he counts on these states for political support. Regrettably, instead of putting his “people first”, Najib turned his July 2010 visit to Sarawak into a political circus, generously pledging money on government projects that would take place in that state.
How irresponsible of him to have kept about 2,000 people from the Penan, Kayan, Saban and Kenyah tribes waiting for four hours on the day of his visit, with some having walked two days just to attend, after word reached them of Najib’s pledge to allocate over RM100 million to complete various projects in the area.
A typical politician, Najib revealed it was all talk and no show when instead of visiting and taking a first-hand look at the problems faced by the Penans and other tribes living in the area, Najib used his visit to gain political mileage. The community leaders did not even get the chance to come close to Najib, their prime minister, let alone have a meeting with him.
Najib instead went on to play politics when he with open hands pledged over RM100 million to complete the Beluru-Lapok road which connects Miri, the closest major town located north-west of the area, to the Baram district located in the state’s interior.
Another RM6 million was promised for a mini hydro-electric dam for Long Banga, where the event was held and yet another pledge of RM1 million was made to link the village to the nearest airport. A further pledge of RM500,000 for a mobile medical clinic was also announced by Najib.
Had Najib taken the trouble to visit the Penan leaders, he would have reaffirmed his commitment to this eastern state which included his promise not to neglect the rural folk who live in areas accessible only by boat, trekking or helicopter.
By choosing to ignore the Penan community, Najib turned his nose up at the very people whose votes will cost him dearly. This infra dig treatment of the Penan people resulted in the rural folk having no more faith in him.
By dismissing them unceremoniously, Najib has proved his detractors right that his “people first” claim is all about a self-serving agenda and was never about the people.
As the saying goes, a person is only as good as his word and this the Penan and other tribal leaders learned the hard way when their very own prime minister gave them the cold shoulder all for the sake of achieving his own vested interest.
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COMMENT
The Malay-rights group Perkasa under its founder-leader Ibrahim Ali keeps threatening the non- Malays. Yet Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is conspicuously quiet. A Sikh participant of the Najib-brainchild national service cried foul that his hair had been snipped while he was asleep.Even then Najib had nothing to say. The Indian community is saddened by the number of custodial deaths involving its youngsters. Still it makes no difference to Najib.
It is also the Indian community which is hoping the issue surrounding the novel Interlok is resolved with maturity. But Najib’s deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, is adamant that only the word “pariah” should be amended and the rest of the contents remain untouched, knowing full well this reflects disrespect to the Indians. Yet, both Muhyiddin and Najib are least concerned.
Last July, during his trip to Ulu Baram, Sarawak, Najib’s arrival was eagerly awaited by the Penan community, a visit promised by the premier. Out of the blue, Najib decided to abandon his meeting with the Penan community leaders as well as the rural folk there.
Why? Is Najib afraid the Penan community would lambast him for being indifferent to the rapes perpetrated against their girls and women by timber loggers? Or was the meeting with the community leaders called off because Najib thought the Penan community and rural residents were not worth his time?
The controversy surrounding the late Teoh Beng Hock has revealed Najib’s couldn’t-care-less attitude when he ignored any one of the seven names suggested by Teoh’s family to sit in as panel in the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
When Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud recently declared he is “fit” to rule the state for another term should he win the state’s April 16 election, Najib wholeheartedly agreed. A politician- leader so corrupt and inhumane like Taib gets Najib’s backing. Why?
Keeping a record of Najib’s indifference towards the sufferings faced by the people, the premier’s words that “the people are the true protectors of the leaders” are cold comfort. Were he sincere about it, Najib would make sure the people are treated with respect, not ignored, victimised or bullied by the “powers that be”.
What made Najib awaken to the fact that the people are really the guardians of the leaders? Was this remark part of his election rally propaganda to hoodwink the people and usurp their votes?
Shameless leaders
During his walkabout in Muar on March 26, Najib said while leaders in some countries used the back door to go up the stage, Malaysian leaders always used the front door. For Najib’s information, there is something called conscience and accountability, both of which are absent from the psyche of Malaysia’s so-called leaders.
That explains why the leaders of this country, almost all of them rich beyond their means, have no shame when taking the front door to reach the podium. Perhaps, it is also their bloated sense of importance that propels them to zoom pass the crowd, and the false sense of respect they seem to command.
In short, Malaysian leaders are “muka tak malu” or shameless politicians who know nothing but how to connive the people and amass as much wealth as possible. The people’s concerns and problems have no place in the hearts of these leaders.
The politicians of this country have yet to take up the cudgels, because they are too besotted with raking in as much wealth as possible, overlooking totally the reason for their becoming the people’s representatives.
If the people’s pleas had affected them, these leaders would waste no time in addressing their woes, with or without a Government Transformation Programme (GTP). The duty of leaders is to serve, not be served and unfortunately for Malaysia, the people are facing the latter.
In Najib’s estimation, leaders should not fear meeting the people if they truly had the people’s interest at heart and cared for them.
“It has been my principle to try to meet and shake hands with as many people as possible as I want to be close to them. If we can visit and meet them, we not only develop love and understanding, we will also see how government policies are implemented,” Najib told a gathering at Taman Tun Dr Ismail Dua in Sungai Abong, recently.
If that is so, why then did Najib refuse to meet the Penan community leaders during his visit to Sarawak in July last year? No doubt, it was a case of “cakap tak serupa bikin” or not walking the talk by Najib.
Shaking hands with an agenda
The public is not as naive as Najib presumes them to be. His “shake hands” strategy is not going to restore the faith of voters and bring in the massive votes the BN coalition lost in the last general election.
The fact that Najib realises the importance of meeting the people to know better how government policies work on the ground ends there. If this bit of reality holds any meaning to Najib, he would never have let the Penan community leaders in Ulu Baram down by declining to meet them.
The prime minister’s original itinerary showed that he had a full-day working visit to four Penan settlements when he visited Sarawak in July last year. Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu anak Numpang had, in announcing the visit, said Najib’s interest in meeting the Penan showed that he was a prime minister for all Malaysians.
“He is showing them that despite their small number in the country, the government remembers and cares for them,” Jabu had said.
Sarawak is home to 16,000 Penans, with the majority of them in Ulu Baram and in Ulu Belaga in the Kapit Division, with some 37% still leading nomadic lives.
Obviously, Jabu had laid it thick by trying to create a favourable impression of Najib who, in 2009, had made several official visits to Sarawak after assuming the premiership. Najib’s visit in July last year would have been his first venturing into the interior reaches of Sarawak.
Had Najib not strayed from his original schedule and kept to his word, he would have won the people’s trust and support for fulfilling a promise made during an earlier visit when Najib said he wanted to have a first-hand look at the more far-flung areas of the state.
Najib’s ‘fixed deposit’
Najib has described Sarawak and Sabah as his “fixed deposit”, in that he counts on these states for political support. Regrettably, instead of putting his “people first”, Najib turned his July 2010 visit to Sarawak into a political circus, generously pledging money on government projects that would take place in that state.
How irresponsible of him to have kept about 2,000 people from the Penan, Kayan, Saban and Kenyah tribes waiting for four hours on the day of his visit, with some having walked two days just to attend, after word reached them of Najib’s pledge to allocate over RM100 million to complete various projects in the area.
A typical politician, Najib revealed it was all talk and no show when instead of visiting and taking a first-hand look at the problems faced by the Penans and other tribes living in the area, Najib used his visit to gain political mileage. The community leaders did not even get the chance to come close to Najib, their prime minister, let alone have a meeting with him.
Najib instead went on to play politics when he with open hands pledged over RM100 million to complete the Beluru-Lapok road which connects Miri, the closest major town located north-west of the area, to the Baram district located in the state’s interior.
Another RM6 million was promised for a mini hydro-electric dam for Long Banga, where the event was held and yet another pledge of RM1 million was made to link the village to the nearest airport. A further pledge of RM500,000 for a mobile medical clinic was also announced by Najib.
Had Najib taken the trouble to visit the Penan leaders, he would have reaffirmed his commitment to this eastern state which included his promise not to neglect the rural folk who live in areas accessible only by boat, trekking or helicopter.
By choosing to ignore the Penan community, Najib turned his nose up at the very people whose votes will cost him dearly. This infra dig treatment of the Penan people resulted in the rural folk having no more faith in him.
By dismissing them unceremoniously, Najib has proved his detractors right that his “people first” claim is all about a self-serving agenda and was never about the people.
As the saying goes, a person is only as good as his word and this the Penan and other tribal leaders learned the hard way when their very own prime minister gave them the cold shoulder all for the sake of achieving his own vested interest.
Malaysiakini received a tip-off after the link…
However, the scene depicting the male character standing in front of the camera and putting on his clothes, which shows him with a 'pot belly' - that Anwar has said is a sure sign the man in the picture is not him - does not appear in this teaser.
He and his wife, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim had been told to quit politics in a statement released by 'Datuk T' - later identified as a trio of political leaders.
Meanwhile, in an immediate reaction, PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (left) echoed the position of fellow party members and close confidants of Anwar that the person in the video is not the opposition leader.
“Much older person. No clear shot of his face, big tummy. Anwar is very vain when it comes to his physique, (he) always takes potshot at us lawyers when we have a pouch,” he told Malaysiakini.
