Last Friday morning Malaysian King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin swore in Najib Razak as the country's sixth prime minister in a ceremony at the royal palace, Istana Negara. This will lead the nation into probably its most challenging period since independence from Britain some 51 years ago. Najib succeeds erstwhile Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who resigned last week after five years in power.
Najib took over the reins of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the main party in the Barisan Nasional Coalition that has ruled the country virtually since independence, following the party’s national convention over a week ago when he was elected the president of UMNO, thus allowing him to succeed outgoing Premier Badawi.
Najib’s political pedigree could not be better. He is the son of Malaysia’s much-revered second Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Razzak. He has a charm almost bordering on that of a naughty child, but has unfortunately been dogged with various allegations which could yet undermine his premiership. UMNO sources stress that this could make Najib a weak prime minister and therefore a stop-gap choice until the next election in two to three years time. Unless, of course, he prefers to renew his mandate earlier in a snap election.
On the other hand, his hold on power has been strengthened by the landslide victory of Muhyiddin Yassin, the erstwhile minister for international trade & industry and a Najib loyalist, in the election for the Deputy Presidency of UMNO and therefore the deputy premiership. Similarly, another Najib supporter Shahrizat Abdul Jalil won the election to head Wanita UMNO, the Women’s wing of UMNO, by ousting veteran incumbent Rafidah Aziz, the former minister for international trade and industry.
Najib has been quick to rise to the occasion, stressing on his personal website, Imalaysia.com, and at a charity event that his priority would be to espouse a “One Malaysia” concept which entailed mutual trust and respect. “These two are important elements for national unity. We must start by having respect for each other and once this has been developed consciously, we will be more open in trusting one another. We must develop this faith and trust. Of course, this will not happen overnight but it has to be consciously developed.”
Najib could well turn out to be the most pragmatic premier in Malaysia's history by forging a new national identity for the country. Malaysians such as Abdul Aziz Mohammed, Malaysia's High Commissioner in London, in a recent interview agreed that in the old days there was a penchant for Muslim Malays to think that they did not have to work hard and that they were privileged. “But that mindset has by and large changed,” he contends.
This is a brave departure from previous UMNO leaders but it also bears some risks, especially if the Malays feel that they are not getting their fair share of the economic cake, which is still dominated by the Chinese. Such sentiments led to ugly race riots in 1969 which precipitated the New Economic Policy (NEP), effectively an affirmative action plan favoring ethnic Malays.
Najib has got his work cut out. Apart from the job of choosing his Cabinet, the ruling coalition is faced with three by-elections in Bukit Selambau, Bukit Gantang and Batang Ai.
Down the line, his immediate challenges include steering the Malaysian economy away from the brink of recession; forging regional and international alliances; mainstreaming a functional democratic Islam; turning Malaysia into a knowledge society in line with the country’s 2020 Vision; and rooting out the scourge of “money politics” from Malaysian political life.
If Najib navigates these ambitious changes competently and fairly, he may yet surprise many as a quietly effective and modern leader. His successes could only help to mitigate any allegations regarding his character, for the long knives of the Opposition are already threatening. The saving grace for Najib is that most of the opposition politicians similarly have skeletons in the cupboard, including Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister who is now the Leader of the opposition.
