{"id":4897,"date":"2009-10-08T14:22:13","date_gmt":"2009-10-08T14:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/?p=4897"},"modified":"2020-03-08T14:31:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-08T14:31:40","slug":"najib-failing-to-win-back-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"Najib failing to win back voters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 08-October-2009 \u2013 Prime Minister Najib Razak heads into his party\u2019s annual meeting next week promising reforms to stem corruption in a bid to reignite the waning appeal of a government that has ruled for 52 years.<\/p>\n

Najib is also hoping for victory on Sunday in a safe state seat to stem a series of by-election losses his governing coalition has suffered since last year\u2019s poll debacle, in which it stumbled to record losses in national and state polls.<\/p>\n

Umno will applaud Najib if a former Cabinet minister, sacked in 2004 for buying votes, wins the seat \u2013 before they turn their attention to party reforms aimed at eliminating the kind of \u201cmoney politics\u201d and corruption that has long tainted Umno\u2019s image.<\/p>\n

Corruption has seen a generation of young Malays desert Umno, the party of their parents, in favour of the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which promotes both an Islamic state and a strong anti-graft stance in this ethnically mixed Southeast Asian nation of 27 million people.<\/p>\n

Although Najib, who has enacted economic reforms to boost foreign investment, initially saw a spike in his approval ratings to 65 per cent in July from 42 per cent before he took office in April, those numbers have not held up.<\/p>\n

A poll by the independent Merdeka Center published on Friday showed Najib\u2019s rating had fallen to 56 per cent in September and there are few signs younger voters are now embracing Umno.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that another Malay party (PAS) is in power, they (Umno) seem to be sabotaging them, creating all sort of problems,\u201d said Yusuff Ismail, a 35-year old sales clerk in northwestern Kedah state, one of the four states to fall to the opposition in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis divides the Malays more,\u201d Yusuff said. \u201cMore people will vote for PAS because at least we know they are cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Najib\u2019s economic reforms have chipped away at a three-decade old affirmative action programme that gives Malays \u2013 55 per cent of the population \u2013 preferences in company ownership, government contracts, education and housing, tough areas have not yet been touched.<\/p>\n

The government has recently been hit by a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal over the construction of a free trade zone in the country\u2019s biggest port. Critics have charged it has been covered up.
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\u201cWhat worries me is that Najib worries there could be more (corruption) incidents in Umno. Then it will be a problem he can\u2019t control,\u201d said a senior Umno official who leads one of the party\u2019s 191 divisions, the frontline units of Malaysia\u2019s biggest mass political party.<\/p>\n

MONEY HAS NOT FOLLOWED PRAISE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Najib, who has pledged to return Malaysia to six per cent annual economic growth and to draw in more foreign investment, has won plaudits from investment banks for the economic reforms he has announced so far.<\/p>\n

These reforms include reducing requirements that Malays own 30 per cent of listed companies, opening up the insurance and fund management industry and other service sectors.<\/p>\n

While praise has flowed, money has not and foreign ownership of the equity market remains mired at a touch over 20 per cent, according to stock market data, its lowest level since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.<\/p>\n

An Oct 4 report from Deutsche Bank noted that despite what it termed \u201cbold\u201d reforms from Najib, some investors had reduced Malaysia\u2019s equity market, once a regional leader, to a \u201crounding error\u201d when making their portfolio allocations.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics matters more than ever for this market, especially when investors\u2019 confidence in Indonesia\u2019s political system has improved significantly over the last month,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Indonesia\u2019s stock market is Asia\u2019s best performing this year and has gained 86 per cent thanks to the re-election of reformist President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono while Malaysia\u2019s market is Asia\u2019s worst performing.<\/p>\n

According to the Deutsche Bank report, government-related entities own 39.4 per cent of Malaysia\u2019s equity market and that reduces the country\u2019s attractiveness to fund managers.<\/p>\n

Bolder reforms, such as moves to reduce the ownership of the state and state-linked pension funds in major companies, and slashing an overmanned civil service, will be much harder as they will have a direct impact on jobs for Malays, Umno\u2019s voter base.<\/p>\n

Bridget Welsh, a Malaysia expert at Singapore Management University, said bolder reforms risk alienating Umno\u2019s core voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason for the failure to bring about reform is Umno\u2019s dependence on race and goodies for its survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

WEAKENED COALITION PARTNERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Najib also faces huge problems rebuilding Umno\u2019s coalition allies who also lost heavily in the 2008 elections.<\/p>\n

The MCA, the second biggest government party, is mired in a leadership battle that will climax at a special party meeting this weekend.<\/p>\n

The MIC has just been through a leadership fight and shows few signs it is reconnecting with its voters after being annihilated in the 2008 elections.<\/p>\n

Ethnic Chinese account for around 25 per cent of the population and ethnic Indians around 8 per cent.<\/p>\n

Najib has sought to defuse racial tensions by launching a racially inclusive campaign called \u201c1 Malaysia\u201d, dismissed by critics as little more than a branding exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strategy is to pledge a yet unsubstantiated programme of \u20181 Malaysia\u2019 while on the ground running campaigns based on the outdated model of race and money,\u201d Welsh said.<\/p>\n

The Umno leader does not see much chance the Barisan will fare any better at the 2013 general election than it did in 2008, raising the prospect of a prolonged period of political uncertainty that will further unnerve investors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI foresee there will not be a change of government, but it will not be a strong vote for both sides and that is bad for the country.\u201d \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 08-October-2009 \u2013 Prime Minister Najib Razak heads into his party\u2019s annual meeting next week<\/p>\n

Continue Najib failing to win back voters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2006-2010","category-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNajib failing to win back voters - Merdeka Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Najib failing to win back voters - Merdeka Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 08-October-2009 \u2013 Prime Minister Najib Razak heads into his party\u2019s annual meeting next weekContinue Najib failing to win back voters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Merdeka Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/malaysiaopinionresearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-08T14:22:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-03-08T14:31:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/#\/schema\/person\/67bf59a3221291901983670f8aa67230\"},\"headline\":\"Najib failing to win back voters\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-08T14:22:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-03-08T14:31:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/\"},\"wordCount\":956,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"2006-2010\",\"In The News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merdeka.org\/v2\/najib-failing-to-win-back-voters\/\",\"name\":\"Najib failing to win back voters - 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