A cursory assessment of his successes and failures since coming into office in November 2003 is not a pretty picture.
By Leslie Lopez, The Straits Times
BY DECLARING his intention to hand over power in mid-2010, Malaysia’s beleaguered Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi must now grapple with the question of how history will judge him.
A cursory assessment of his successes and failures since coming into office in November 2003 is not a pretty picture.
Findings of a recent survey by the respected Merdeka Centre showed that his popularity has slumped to its lowest level, cynicism towards his administration is on the rise and public confidence in the security and justice systems has eroded further.
In a nutshell, the promised break with the past – particularly the excesses in public management and the browbeating of once-independent public institutions associated with his predecessor – has not materialised.
For his part, Datuk Seri Abdullah has maintained that the reforms he promised when coming to power will take time to implement.
But analysts are sceptical and many wonder if the Premier will be able to use the two years that he still has in office to fix the damage and burnish his credentials before handing over power.
‘Mr Abdullah and Umno need to quickly realise that analog solutions won’t solve digital-age problems,’ says a senior associate of Mr Abdullah. He concedes that the Premier faces an uphill battle winning back the confidence he enjoyed in the early months of 2004 when his popularity was at its peak.
Ironically for Mr Abdullah, he faces the prospect of his legacy being defined by how his government treats its chief political nemesis Anwar Ibrahim. The sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar from government and subsequent jail sentences a decade ago cast a permanent blight on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s 22 years in office.
Similar to events 10 years ago, Mr Anwar faces accusations of sodomy and the police are widely expected to charge him in the coming days. Again, he is alleging that the accusations are part of a government conspiracy to prevent him from coming to power.
Mr Abdullah’s problem is that many Malaysians think so too.
According to the recent Merdeka Centre survey, only 11 per cent of the Malays and Chinese, and 13 per cent of the Indians polled believe the allegations of sexual misconduct against the former deputy premier.
Of the 1,030 randomly selected Malaysians whose views were polled, 50 per cent of the Malays, 59 per cent of the Chinese and 75 per cent of the Indians believe
Mr Anwar is a victim of a frame- up.
This tricky tightrope walk in dealing with Mr Anwar will come into sharp focus during the campaign in the upcoming by-election in Mr Abdullah’s home state of Penang.
The by-election at Permatang Pauh, which is close to Mr Abdullah’s own constituency of Kepala Batas, is set to become a referendum of sorts on the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Still, some analysts believe
Mr Abdullah’s problems stem from the reluctance of his ruling Umno party to accept the March 8 election result. This was when Malaysians from across the racial divide rejected the Umno-led BN coalition because of rampant corruption and its tone-deaf style of running the government.
They note that Mr Anwar’s political gains are simply because he has managed to tap this wellspring of discontent.
To arrest the government’s decline, Mr Abdullah will need to show more determination in his reform agenda and radically change Umno’s image as a monolithic organisation bereft of checks and balances.
The low popularity rating of PM is clearly shown that he is steering the sinking ship to hell ! Please Mr Prime Minister, do not bring the country’s economy & the Rakyat to hell if you are determined to bring UMNO & BN with you to hell.
Reply
lawannnnnnn kita lawannnnnnn… REFORMASI PEMBEBAS KAKI BONTOT!!! Anwar tak bersalah! Cuma suka lelaki jer.. ekekeke…
Reply
I just can’t wait to see you, DSAI to be our prime minister. Once you are the prime minister
it is vital not to forget that you have the chinese, the indians and the sabahans who are now
behind you through thick and thin. Worry about the citizens who are not surviving.Eradicate
poverty and eradicate corruption before you think of any “corridors” to build (BN’s gimmicks)
Tell the people who are behind you your problem and they are brained enough on the grassroots
to assist you with the solutions. Take “coffee shop’s talk as very vital in running the country.
Right now,every breathing soul on every inch of this country is behind you. Talks are done
every minute of the day in anticipation of you been our leader. You have been in the government
before and you are the best person to know what you should do and I do not take you as a politician but a crusader of the new era.
Reply
Malaysia is doom…unlucky for us.UMNO had to be buried,all corrupted politicians to be publicly hang inorder to save all of us.
Reply
Jangan kata dulu. Perlawanan sebenar belum lagi berlansung. Takut nanti perkara yang tidak dijangka berlaku terpaksa menjilat semula ludah yang telah dibuang.
Reply
The new dawn is fast approaching, BN will be buried for good in the coming days.DSAI should win the Permatang Pauh easily without fight from BN,unless they use their machinery to manipulate the by-election. In DSAI,the whole Rakyat are behind to ensure a new government is formed, we had enough of BN regime’s rule.They had rob,split the Malaysians by race and use religion to divide and rule the nation for the past 50 years.The course of this nation is off the track, and we need the PR government to put back the nation on the right track and move ahead .
The time is here and the people of Permatang Pauh have a huge responsibility to elect DSAI in order have justices and the right people to govern the country. Bodowi and his goverment is history , we want a change and its here, let go for it !!!
Cheers!
Reply
SPONGEBOB #: 2
KEPALA OTAK HANG NAK KENA SERVIS. ISLAM KE BUKAN?? KALAU HANG ORANG ISLAM HANG MESTI TAU DOSA PAHALA BILA BERSUBAHAT DGN FITNAH. NAK JADI KAYU API KE??. PAK LAH NGAN NAJIB PUN TAU DSAI TAK SALAH, NI HANG LEBIH2 PULAK. CEPAT2 LAH BERTAUBAT. TAKUT TAK SEMPAT. MACAM MEGAT PANJI ALAM?? SAPA NAMA TU??WALLAHUALAM.. MUDAH-MUDAHAN DIA DITEMPATKAN BERSAMA ORANG2 YANG BERIMAN. AMIN.
Reply
DSAI, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!TERUS BERJUANG,BUT BEWARE OF BN DIRTY STRATEGY AS I MENTIONED BEFORE.
ALL THE BEST
Reply
DSAI, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!TERUS BERJUANG,BUT BEWARE OF BN DIRTY STRATEGY AS I MENTIONED BEFORE.
ALL THE BEST,pls avoid undi Hantu and Pos from BN/UMNO!How?
Allahuakbar
Reply
pak lah n umno leaders must think deep about themselves.in this moment of time,rakyat not as fool as like in 70s,80s.there nothing u can hide,lied to rakyat these days…corruption,sex scandal n many more ‘wrong doings’ in BN leaders make rakyat feel very disturbing,especially young generation like me…me as ordinary citizen,want a change as i see after 50 years BN in powers is enough…give others/pakatan rakyat oppurtunity to show how they manage n govermance my beloved Malaysia….deep in my heart i got sense n feel bright n more secured future for our Malaysia if Pakatan Rakyat success in journey towards Putrajaya….
InsyaAllah….
Reply
spongebob,
iknow u…..jangan hipokrit….mana badak…paklah tak bagi ke….
Reply
la illa hailla anta subhanaka inni kuntum minazzalimin…. zikir banyak-banyak dan hadiahkan pada DSAI…. insyaallah…
Reply