Stop all polemics on , I shall decide: Najib
If supporters of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expect Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to be censured by Datuk Seri Najib Razak over his spat with the former PM, they are going to be disappointed.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib met with Nazri amid growing uneasiness in the corridors of power over the latter’s public row with Dr Mahathir. But The Malaysian Insiderunderstands that Nazri was not given a dressing down by his boss. Neither was he admonished for calling Dr Mahathir “the father of all racists” for defending the controversial Biro Tata Negara (BTN) course from criticisms that it is divisive and promotes racism. The only message sent to Nazri was that he should not have a slanging match in public with other Cabinet members or with Dr Mahathir.
In the past week, Nazri has maintained that the Cabinet had already decided to overhaul the BTN programme, which is compulsory for new civil servants and public university undergraduates.
His remarks stood out because other members of Cabinet, including DPM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had been suggesting not only that a revamp was unnecessary but that there was nothing wrong with BTN itself.
Dr Mahathir had also joined in the fray by backing the hawkish views of the current Cabinet members from Umno.
Their defence of BTN follows a decision by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) governments in Selangor, Kelantan and Penang to bar its civil servants from attending the course. A number of former participants — who are mainly Malay — have also come out to attack the course as racist and suggested that it was used as a propaganda tool to maintain support for Umno’s concept of “Ketuanan Melayu,” or Malay supremacy.
But Nazri had pointed out that there was no need to pretend BTN was without flaws.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib has also imposed a gag order on his ministers to stop the public debate over BTN. He has told his ministers that he will personally solve the problem.
But Nazri’s public spat with Dr Mahathir had certainly put Najib in a spot. There are concerns within Najib’s camp that Nazri’s verbal war with Dr Mahathir may be interpreted as attacks sanctioned by the prime minister.
Najib is particularly aware of how Dr Mahathir’s relentless attacks against Tun Abdullah Badawi’s administration contributed to the last PM’s downfall.
The prime minister, who had along with his entire Cabinet sanctioned a revamp of BTN, will now have to be careful in how he handles the dilemma he finds himself in. Nazri, who is a close political ally of Najib, has become the target of a campaign among Dr Mahathir’s supporters to be removed from Cabinet and Umno’s supreme council.
He has been labelled a traitor by some of Dr Mahathir’s supporters. And Dr Mahathir will not be happy at being so publicly called a racist by a member of Najib’s Cabinet.
What a strange response from Nazim. If Bala's statement is not true, his first response would be to deny it and keep it at that.'
UPDATED
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — The Najib Administration has gathered at a top hotel in the city this morning to finalise 300 programmes in key areas of economy, crime and national unity that it hopes will help win the next general elections over rivals Pakatan Rakyat.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is chairing the third such retreat to discuss his government’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) which he proposed when taking office last April.
He is scheduled to speak to the press about the conclusions after lunch.
“This shows the approach taken by the government in using the NKRAs and KPIs are not mere political rhetoric or empty talk, we are truly serious and committed,” Najib said in his Pekan constituency yesterday.
The Cabinet will fine tune programmes proposed in labs set up by minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala with focus on 1 Malaysia ideas for the multi-racial country that has frayed over several incidents between the majority Malay Muslims and the Chinese and Indians.
Some natives in Sarawak have also found out they don’t qualify for scholarships or university places as one of their parents are not natives.
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang had savaged Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept in the NKRAs, saying the ongoing debate about the National Civics Bureau or Biro Tata Negara (BTN) courses seen by some as racist has sabotaged hopes of national unity.
Najib has directed his Cabinet members to stop discussing the matter publicly due to a split about whether the courses should be revamped or upgraded to reflect his 1 Malaysia idea.
Of greater concern to Najib will be proposals to boost the soft economy and steer Malaysia to a high-income economy. Economic data and anecdotal evidence show the country is losing its talent and attractiveness as an investment centre.
The prime minister who is also finance minister has said the country needs to achieve six per cent growth annually to reach its Vision 2020 targets.
Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah had described the last 10 years as a ‘decade of stagnation’ and said the country needs to introduce more competition to do better.
The government has also directed state asset manager Khazanah Nasional Berhad to pare its stakes in various government-linked companies to improve market liquidity and get the private sector to drive the economy.
But its placement of Tenaga Nasional Berhad shares on Friday drove down the utility’s share prices.
Nazim Razak: I've nothing to say
Multi Racial: Those who have been named by private eye P Balasubramaniam should come out to deny it if it is untrue and take Bala to court for lying. If no action is taken and they choose to keep quiet, then it will give Malaysians the impression that what was said by Bala is true.
In that case, the Attorney-General's office should charge these people. There are many people who have some influence to make a different for Malaysia but only a few have the courage to act. Unfortunately, I don't think our AG is in such league.
Louis: How are we going to improve on our transparency index? An outright allegation of being offered bribe by the receiver himself with proof of payments was totally ignored by the authority. But when a paltry sum of RM2,400 was involved, it went into action with zeal.
Lim Chong Leong: What a strange response from Nazim. If Bala's statement is not true, his first response would be to deny it and keep it at that. But to offer a statement that he has nothing to say appears a lot weirder and just not so natural.
Isaac Ho: There is a saying: "If there is no smoke, then there is no fire". This would speak volumes of those involved... and may justice be done soon.
Cheeyin: When I audited Carpet Raya and doing their stock take, we could not reconciled their inventory nor be able to proof their revenue existence. They made tons of money but we were unable to substantiate it with any indicators, be it industry, demand nor financial perspective...
Pak Ibu: Congratulations to Malaysiakini for introducing the sort of journalism this country desperately needed all along, but was denied it until the advent of the Internet! Well, last week nearly 100,000 Italians went on the streets demanding the resignation of Berlusconi. Same scenario as Malaysia - but Malaysians are more docile than the Italians.
Teh: Malaysiakini should be applauded for its efforts to uncover the truth. This is exactly what this country needs - investigative journalism.
We need answers. We want answers. Someone is lying. Someone is breaking the law. A murder case has rock this nation. The main culprit(s) are still out there. The truth must come out. We need to feel that there is still the rule of law, that there is still justice in Malaysia.
Stop all polemics on BTN, I shall decide: Najib
Kadir: Thank you PM, everyone and his dog had their say. It is now over to you and I shall hold my peace. Thank you for noting that BTN may need changes. Whatever the outcome, definitely everyone won't be in agreement.
However, I hope everyone would accept it as your sincere and best effort to put things right and move on from there. Certainly as PM you must have the chance and space to do what you think is best for Malaysians. I also hope everyone would heed your call to cease and desist from making further comments in support of or against BTN.
Chongjin Chua: How come only one minister is fighting for 1Malaysia? What about the rest? The only way Najib is keeping quiet is because he does not have a clear action plan yet. He is using Nazri Abdul Aziz to test the water and see the reaction from the public.
Bonda: Nazri may have his weaknesses but I love the way he stands bold many a times to take the bull by the horns. The fact that he does not harbour hopes for a post in Umno and the government is an added advantage to him.
I love the way he slapped Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Utusan Malaysia and those who lodges police reports against YB M Kulasegaran. The slap on Mahathir's face was well deserved!
Hardtail: It's a good cop, bad cop role... speak against Ketuanan Melayu on one hand, but on the other hand, pay hired goons to protest and stir up trouble.
Hibiscus: YB Najib, I believe many Malaysians are anxious to know what KPI you will use to evaluate the BTN modules. Will you have the courage to scrap the BTN courses if necessary, considering Mahathir already said 'no'.
Gibran: BTN courses need not be reviewed but removed. BN/Umno does not seem to understand what patriotism is.
A good citizen is a person who abides by the laws of the country. A good citizen when he sees wrong he will try to right it, when he sees suffering he will try to end it. When he sees there is need to bring changes, he will fight for it.
It is not about going for courses like BTN where you are told that you have to love your country and protect Malay supremacy.
28 years as party chief, Taib set to return unopposed
Yuvan: As far as Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is concerned, Sarawak is his playground and backyard. The state belongs to him and his family alone. No one else can 'reside' there.
Besides that he probably wants to out beat leaders like Indonesia's Suharto who held office for 31 years, and of course some political party leaders in the Peninsula who are still stubbornly holding on for more than three decades!
Mohd Idris Hassan: Old politicians like Abdul Taib never want to fade away. They want to stay on and hold sway. It does not matter what the public has to say, they want to soldier on till their
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