Najib's 100 Days, Pt 5: Handling BN

Written by Oon Yeoh

Wednesday, 15 July 2009 11:20

In the short time-frame of his first 100 days, Najib – who is Umno president and the country's prime minister – had to deal with one headache after another, not least of which was his own party.

Umno
In mid-April, Umno Terengganu experienced an internal revolt. Ten Umno representatives boycotted the state assembly in protest against the unpopular Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said. Najib nipped the crisis in the bud by ordering all Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives in Terengganu to attend the state assembly the next day, and everyone turned up as told.

But the issue continued to fester; it was reported on April 20 that there were now 18 state representatives who wanted Ahmad Said to step down, which would be enough for a vote of no-confidence to sail through. Najib met with Ahmad Said immediately, giving him a month to prove that he is able to keep the party together and lead the state. Ahmad Said subsequently cancelled his official 10-day visit abroad to sort out the mess in Terengganu.

On the national front, Najib was also instituting changes, revamping the line-up of Umno state liaison chiefs in late April. A month later, Hishammuddin Hussein revealed preliminary suggestions on changes to the party’s constitution, including allowing its grassroots members to directly elect the party's leaders. It is hoped that the proposals would be tabled at Umno's special assembly in October and take effect immediately.

MCA
A clash between MCA's top two leaders, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Chua Soi Lek was brewing in which the latter had hinted that he might consider leaving BN to join the Opposition. In a deft move, Najib in mid-May placated Chua by giving him the position of BN chief coordinator, which meant he was in charge of reviving BN’s fortunes in the states lost to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), along with Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

Then in mid-June, Ong's blog carried a poll that asked, “Should MCA pull out from Barisan Nasional?”. The result was a public relations disaster, as 75% of the 2,500-odd respondents voted yes.

Certain Umno leaders and Utusan Malaysia accused the MCA of using the poll to get concessions from Umno. MCA responded strongly, saying that the poll was only part of MCA's ongoing effort to gather public feedback on issues affecting the people. Najib managed to diffuse the situation, describing it as “only an academic exercise” and referred to MCA as a senior partner in the BN.

MIC
Shortly after Najib announced his cabinet, news emerged that the MIC – in particular its leader Datuk Seri Samy Vellu – was unhappy with the party’s sole ministerial allocation for the human resources portfolio. Malaysiakini reported that MIC was considering pulling out of the government administration, although the party would remain in the government coalition.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged MIC to discuss its grievances directly with the prime minister instead of going public on its threat to withdraw its ministers from the new cabinet.

“If they have any dissatisfaction, they should be meeting the prime minister personally,” Muhyiddin said on April 13. Three days later, Samy Vellu, after a lengthy discussion with Najib, announced that the party would not be withdrawing its representatives from the administration. “This cabinet is the prerogative of the prime minister,” he said, calling the issue closed.

Gerakan
After being wiped out in the last general elections in Penang, Gerakan found itself nearly irrelevant as it had no ministerial portfolio in Pak Lah’s post-elections cabinet.

By making Gerakan President Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon a senator and a minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of unity and performance management, Najib gave Gerakan a much-needed lifeline and prevented the party from criticising the new administration too much.

Besides Koh, two other Gerakan leaders were appointed into the Cabinet: Selangor Gerakan chief A. Kohilan Pillay, who was made deputy foreign minister, and Gerakan Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, who was made deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister.

BN Sabah
In the aftermath of the last general elections, some political parties in Sabah were grumbling that that they felt unappreciated under BN, and speculation was rife that a few parties could join PR. One party, SAPP withdrew from BN on Sept 17, 2008, and is now in opposition, but not part of PR yet.

Unlike his predecessor who failed to show enough cognizance of the role East Malaysia played in keeping the BN in power, Najib went out of his way to do so, making several trips there. When he visited Sabah in early May he aptly referred to the state as a valuable “fixed deposit” for the BN.

Najib also backed his words with action, naming four full ministers as well as five deputy ministers from Sabah. They include Datuk Anifah Aman (foreign ministry), Datuk Maximus Ongkili (science, technology and innovation), Tan Sri Bernard Dompok (plantation industries and commodities) and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (rural and regional development).

Other measures announced by Najib to help the state was the federal government’s decision to buy the privately run Sabah Medical Centre (SMC) for RM245 million, and pledging half-a-billion ringgit to the Sabah Development Office, which oversees federal development programmes in the state.

BN Sarawak
In mid-June Najib made a two-day official visit to the state, during which he visited a longhouse in Batang Ai, a constituency BN retained in the April 7 by-election, and promised to fulfill all the pledges made during the campaign period. Amongst other things, he announced allocations of funds to build several roads and renovations of over 200 longhouses as well as a new customs and immigration complex.

As with the case of Sabah, Najib expressed that Sarawak was a good example of his 1Malaysia concept. He said if what he saw during his visit was a sign, the concept was not only well-received by the people but it had already become a way of life.

Najib's 100 days, Pt1: on leadership

Najib's 100 days, Pt 2: on economic reforms

Najib's 100 days, Pt 3: on foreign relations

Najib's 100 Days, Pt 4: on race relations

Najib's 100 days, Pt 6: Dealing with PR< Prev		Next >Najib's 100 Days, Pt 4: Race Relations

Last Updated on Friday, 17 July 2009 15:08

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