Najib beats war drums at pre-GE14 Umno meet, silent on 1MDB

ANALYSIS | Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak went on the offensive during his policy speech at Umno's 71st annual meet, the last before the 14th General Election.

Exuding confidence, Najib, who is also Umno president, opened fire on his political adversaries and primed supporters for the impending polls.

Conspicuously absent, however, were issues which could betray signs of weakness, such as the 1MDB scandal, which continues to haunt his administration and make news around the globe.

Similar to his speech at the previous Umno assembly, Najib sought to frighten the Malay electorate with the prospect of the opposition coming into power, especially the predominantly-Chinese DAP.

Upping the ante this time around, he warned that the Malays would become "bangsat" (bastards) in their own land.

"If the opposition wins... the special rights of the Malays, as the original forbearers of this land, from a noble and free race, will have its pride trampled on and its (position) in the centre sold.

"Worse yet, they will become vagabonds, cursed and despised, until they are 'terbangsat' (become bastards) in their own homeland," he said.

According to Najib, Bersatu, which is led by a former Umno president of two decades and his arch nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad, would not be able to prevent this outcome since the party, which is touted as an alternative to Umno, is a "tool" of DAP.

Malay support, particularly in rural areas, is crucial in the next general election and is Umno's last bastion, as the opposition have been able to control most of the urban vote in the last two elections.

Bersatu, an Umno offshoot, is expected to play a key role in pursuing rural voters for Pakatan Harapan, whose leaders claim that the coming polls would witness a "Malay Tsunami" which would drown the ruling coalition.

Harapan's trump card against the Najib administration is that the coalition would be replacing a government plagued with corruption scandals such as 1MDB and Felda Global Ventures (FGV).

By ignoring these issues in his speech, the prime minister signalled to his support base that these scandals do not matter nor do they impact his position.

Teflon Najib

On the contrary, Najib chose to focus on his administration's achievements.

This included the "carve out and compete" initiative under his 2018 budget, which seeks to help bumiputeras win up to RM61 billion worth of contracts.

Other achievements highlighted were the MRT, the planned East Coast Rail Link and high-speed rail connecting Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Amid the numerous scandals and accusations, Umno wings have proposed that the president's post is not challenged in the next party election, which is a testimony to Najib's control and influence, especially in the wake of having purged his dissidents.

In early 2016, when the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report disclosed the RM2.6 billion in the prime minister's accounts and the RM42 million which were transferred from a former 1MDB subsidiary into his accounts, observers were of the opinion that Najib would not be at the helm for long, let alone lead Umno and BN for the coming general election.

The prime minister has proved them wrong, and continues to withstand not only Mahathir's relentless attack, but also the developments related to the 1MDB scandal, such as the US Department of Justice's civil forfeiture suits and investigations carried out in various countries.

Even some 24 hours before the Umno meet's commencement on Tuesday night, Malaysians read how US attorney-general Jeff Sessions had described the 1MDB scandal as "kleptocracy at its worst" during an international conference in Washington DC.

The current parliamentary term expires on June 26, 2018, which means that the general election must be called within 60 days from that date.

BN, which lost the popular vote in the last election, would be looking to prove itself by regaining a two-thirds majority in Parliament, which the ruling coalition was denied for two consecutive terms.- Mkini

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