High Expectations

Datuk Seri Najib the new UMNO president will become the sixth PM of Malaysia this April. High expectations are demanded of the new man at the country's helm. Najib has a lot of work cut out for him mainly due to the dirty mess inherited from previous administrations. The Malaysia of today faces a multitude of problems; violent crime, corruption, polarisation in society, political anxieties, arbitrary arrests, public insecurity and many, many more. It would be a big mistake if Najib takes in Dr Mahathir and Abdullah to help him make decisions in guiding the country forward. Both are past their time and Najib must instead work together with those who just got elected into the Supreme Council within UMNO. Dr Mahathir is a man whose head is always filled with dangerous ideas and unsafe and unsound principles and the new UMNO leadership must steer clear of him. Mahathir is a man who is an expert in whipping up unhealthy emotions to be used as a tool to further his personal wishes. Najib must clean up the police force and all the other law enforcement agencies like Immigration, RELA and others. There have been a lot of reports of abuses by these agencies. Some of their members have been known to have actively cooperated with organised crime and smuggling rings and received plenty amounts of bribes. The presence of so many vice rings in cities like KL and George Town are a glaring reminder of how bad the situation has become. People who work in hotels in places like Pudu and the Upper Penang Road-Leith Street red light area in Penang will readily tell you how many government 'VIP'servants are often seen patronising the 'delights' available there. These activities are able to take place simply because the businesses operating there are 'protected' by individuals working within the many law enforcement agencies of the country. The new PM must also be fair to the opposition polticians. All along, the opposition parties have always been treated unfairly by the police and the mass media, especially the national TV stations. Police often break up or arrest people who attend gatherings or meetings organised by opposition parties, yet at the same time, the police are often seen showing very unusual sympathy or understanding to rowdy pro-BN hooligans venting their emotions in public places. It is most unfair. Under Abdullah, the crime situation has deteriorated badly, with so many criminals prowling the streets, roads and lanes all over the country strewing misery and pain upon the innocent citizens. Worse, many of these criminals are very sadistic and violent, especially in cases involving young girls and women. And the number of very violent robberies and heists is increasing with every passing year. The public has lost faith with the authorities as a result. Najib must also tackle the problem of people who like to import foreign labour either legally or illegally, on the excuse that they are badly needed. Such people are nothing more than human traffickers who obtain a lot of money tricking both the foreigners and the locals into the immoral trade. If restaurants and factories cannot survive without the foreign labour, they should just relocate overseas. If not, they should start hiring local workers either on a full-time or part-time basis. Najib must weed out all those useless people inside the public services

sector who are merely enjoying a free ride and earning salaries blindly. Many of them do not deserve to be employed in their jobs but they got in just because of their connections or background. A recent case where a man got assaulted by a hospital attendant when he requested for urgent attention because of a fractured ankle is a very typical case of just what kind of employees that can be found in the public sector. Najib should also hold discussions with the people, including the many political groups and the academia to visualise what kind of future the country should have. Malaysia needs to introduce a stable 2-party system to avoid the many street marches and counter-marches and scuffles so often seen these days. It will also lessen the racial factor that is sometimes seen manifesting itself at gatherings in hot areas.( eg. Bukit Selambau where an MCA gathering on March 23 was physically harassed by certain quarters. The Chinese are often seen as 'least offensive'or 'less violent' and thus more susceptible to intimidation by others). The new PM must distance himself from the various right-wing groups that exist in the country today. These groups are filled only with people who are stunted in their outlook and intellectual capacity. They are very dangerous to the mainstream of society and they post a menace to public safety and national security. The new PM must regard them as mere vermins and nothing more. Does Najib have what it takes to become the leader that Malaysia has been looking for all this while ? We cannot be sure right now. But possibly it could be a yes. However, a lot of the outcome depends on Najib too. For him, one very important message is: Be sure never to miss the forests because of the trees.