DATUK Seri Najib Tun Razak’s schedule has been so jam-packed over the last few months that when he had a makan outing with his family last weekend, it made news in all the media.
Their presence at an outlet known for Penang hawker food caused such a stir that the Prime Minister spent more time shaking hands with well-wishers and posing for photographs than on the food. It will be a while more before he can enjoy time off with his family because his schedule is about to get super busy.
The long wait is over. Parliament has been dissolved, the state legislative assemblies have followed suit and it is all systems go from here. The stage is set for GE13, the most awaited and what many expect to be the most intensely fought general election in the country’s history.
“This is not going to be a simple contest. It is like a war this time. The other side has resources, it is hungry for power and cannot be underestimated,” said MCA central committee member and lawyer Datuk Ti Lian Ker.
The dissolution of Parliament took place on the date Najib was sworn in as Prime Minister four years ago. It was a timely reminder of his arduous journey to put his party and coalition back on its feet after the 2008 debacle, the policies and reforms he has initiated and the direction that he intends to take this country.
Najib’s schedule has been so hectic that he has shed most of his excess weight. When he posed for photographs with some senior editors in his office on Friday, he was the slimmest person among them.
His paunch is gone, he looks fit and is in great shape. He has lost 6kg over the last couple of months and during the formal photo shoot, his suit needed to be pinned up at the back.
His national standing is also looking good. His approval rating is at an all-time high and climbing. His report card is on the table for all to assess. The momentum is with him and he wants everyone to come along with his 1Malaysia vision.
But he is not complacent and tells everyone that he is “cautiously optimistic”.
One reason is the Chinese vote – they are still floating out there. The Chinese say they like Najib but they still think they want to put Umno in its place.
But he has not given up trying to win them over even now as he is approaching the eleventh hour.
Last week, he met up with a delegation from Dong Zong, the Chinese education body that wields a lot of influence over the Chinese. He gave them his word that his administration is seriously looking into their request for the United Examination Certificate (UEC) to be recognised by the Government. The UEC issue has been a long standing thorn of contention and it does look like the matter is about to be resolved.
Last month, Najib hosted a fund-raiser for the Chong Hwa High School in Kuantan alongside no less than well-known movie star Jacky Chan. It was probably one of the most well-attended fund-raisers in history. A total of RM13.5mil was raised for the Chinese school and those there could not stop talking about the actor’s natural charm and charisma.
But more than that, it was Najib’s way of saying that he knows the premium the Chinese place on education, that he is not the sort to make empty promises, and that he can put the money where the mouth is.
He is also taken very seriously by the Beijing government, a fact that has been demonstrated by China’s commitment to the Kuantan Industrial Park and the Xiamen University campus in Sepang, Selangor. He has made great efforts to establish his credentials as a leader who understands the significance of China in the Malaysia scheme of things.
Najib rarely gives interviews to newspapers these days but last week, he granted Sin Chew Daily an exclusive interview. A day before the interview, he tweeted about how he was looking forward to it.
During the Chinese New Year, he and his son Nor Ashman, or Ji Ping as he was known among his classmates when studying Mandarin in Beijing, greeted listeners in Mandarin.
The drive for the Chinese vote was recently given an added push by no less than Tun Daim Zainuddin himself. The former Finance Minister gave lengthy interviews to China Press and Sin Chew a week ago and which were splashed on their front pages over two days.
Strong impact
Daim’s hair has grown snowy white and there is also less of it; he has aged yet there is an ageless quality about him.
He is a very fit 75-year-old but he told his interviewers he is too old to go out and campaign for Barisan Nasional. There was no need for him to do so; the interviews were as good as him going round the country given its impact on the Chinese as well as the business sector.
Daim, as everyone knows, correctly predicted the fall of Kedah, Penang and Selangor before the last election. As a result, the Chinese media have come to regard him as some kind of political oracle.
The multi-millionaire politician met the China Press at his office wearing sandals and one of his trademark cotton batik shirts that looked faded around the shoulders. The only expensive-looking item on him was his wristwatch.
Daim made it clear at the start that Najib is the better candidate for Prime Minister. He said Najib has put the country in the right economic direction.
He said he wants Najib to win because he does not think Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the right candidate to be prime minister. He asked his audience to give Najib the mandate, give him a chance and test him for five years.
Daim has been spending quite a bit of time abroad but he has obviously kept his ears close to the Chinese ground. He wondered aloud about why the Chinese seemed so emotional about the politics of the country. He said the Malay and Indian votes have returned to Barisan but he could not understand why the Chinese still wanted to try out Pakatan Rakyat.
“Look at Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor – and you still want to try? Even in Penang, Lim Guan Eng is always blaming his predecessor. Five years should be enough, another five years could result in disaster. The world economy is in a crisis, this is not the time to pick the wrong people to lead the country,” he said.
He noted that the Chinese are such astute people yet they did not seem to care that the Pakatan parties quarrelled non-stop and blamed the last government for everything and that Selangor could not even handle the water crisis.
He said he could not understand why DAP is still cooperating with PAS despite the latter’s goal of implementing hudud law.
Basically, Daim is saying that he is not impressed by Pakatan’s track record in the four states that they now govern. He is not convinced that Pakatan is ready to run the country. His take is that these people should have concentrated on doing a good job as a state government instead of trying to run before they can even walk.
He also did not think Anwar knows much about the economy.
“He is the economic advisor of Selangor but he cannot solve Selangor’s problems. If he is so good, why has he not been made economic advisor to Kedah, Penang and Kelantan?” he noted.
Like many political observers, he also thinks that it is time Lim Kit Siang retires rather than run from seat to seat.
“DAP talks about ‘Ubah’. They should show us new faces and not Kit Siang all the time. Kit Siang is 70-plus, he should retire like me,” he said.
This time around, Daim is predicting that Kedah and Selangor are in danger of falling and that Barisan has a good chance of holding on to Perak. He is confident Barisan will continue to form the federal government.
Najib actually has three prominent Tuns rooting for him. Apart from Tun Daim, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi have been on his side from day one although in different ways.
Abdullah’s support has been implicit and uncompromising. Dr Mahathir is not only 100% in support of Najib but is also actively campaigning to ensure that Najib wins well.
Right from the start, Pakatan leaders knew he would be tougher to take on than Abdullah. But they did not figure that it would be this tough. His preparations for his first general election as Prime Minister has been in stark contrast to that of his predecessor.
Najib is an intelligent, experienced and meticulous politician. He has been on uncharted terrain over the last few years and he has had to put his heart and soul into his work to be able to arrive to this stage.
The crowds everywhere he goes have been getting bigger and many of them go ga-ga at the sight of him. His most special quality today is that his appeal cuts across race and that is a major achievement in Malaysian politics.
This general election will be about which side can better deliver and deserves to be the government. But as MCA’s Ti pointed out, the GE13 will also be about voting for who will make the better Prime Minister.
“I drive home this point whenever I go on the ground,” said Ti who is from the Prime Minister’s home state.
Ti is confident that people will agree Najib is up there on this count, a first among equals.
As for Najib, he is hopeful that the momentum will grow into a winning streak.
> Joceline Tan can be reached at joceline@thestar.com.my
