Malaysia's
leader-in-waiting By Ioannis
Gatsiounis
KUALA LUMPUR - Deputy Prime
Minister Najib Razak is widely seen as Malaysia's
prime-minister-in-waiting. Being the number two in
Malaysia, of course, hardly makes one a shoe-in
for the premiership. Over the past two decades
three deputies have been unceremoniously dumped,
thwarting their political ambitions.
The
most infamous axing involved former prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad's charismatic deputy Anwar
Ibrahim, who at the peak of his popularity was
imprisoned on charges of sodomy and corruption in
what was widely viewed as a political witchhunt
orchestrated by Mahathir.
Najib, 53, is the eldest son of Malaysia's
popular second prime minister, Abdul Razak, and
nephew of the third prime minister, Hussein Onn.
But his chances are not being gauged by pedigree
or political standing alone. Unlike some of his
deputy premier predecessors, Najib has been
careful not to outshine his boss, Prime Minister
Abdullah Badawi.
On a number of occasions
he has publicly declared his loyalty to Abdullah,
while insisting that the premier has support at
every level of the conservative ruling United
Malays National Organization (UMNO).
At
the same time, Najib has built strong bonds with
the party's old guard, making a contrast with the
understated Abdullah. The premier's early attempts
to curb graft and restore government integrity,
accountability and transparency irked some senior
UMNO members, but more recently his high-profile
campaign has lost steam. Najib comes off as
authoritative and eloquent, if not a bit guarded
and calculated, when commenting on issues of
national interest.
After becoming the
nation's youngest member of parliament ever at the
age of 22, and with his current high standing as
deputy prime minister and defense minister, Najib
gives the impression that what he determines
usually gets done. And should he eventually take
the reins of power of this fast-developing though
anxious majority Muslim nation, it remains a
puzzle how exactly he would differentiate himself
from Abdullah, not to mention his predecessor
Mahathir.
That political moment of truth
could be around the corner. In June, Mahathir
started to level accusations against Abdullah, his
hand-picked successor, for being weak, indecisive
and allowing his family to benefit from government
contracts. Mahathir, 80, hasn't let up since, and
the criticism is exacting a toll on Abdullah's
credibility inside and outside the party.
This has raised new speculation that UMNO
could eventually split into opposing Najib and
Abdullah camps. Najib has sought to quell the
speculation by declaring his unwavering support
for Abdullah and UMNO, which he appears to
genuinely view as a source of national strength
and unity.
Yet while Abdullah and Najib
are cordial in public, there is, according to
party insiders, no love lost between the two
long-time cabinet colleagues. One account has it
that Mahathir preferred to make Najib his
successor, but, made wary by former deputies
trying to outshine him on his political departure,
chose the soft-spoken Abdullah to protect his own
interests. In return, it's believed that Mahathir
demanded that Abdullah choose Najib as his deputy
and groom him for eventual succession.
Indications so far are that Najib is
patiently waiting his turn and that Abdullah plans
to ride out his term, which expires in 2009. UMNO
party elections are scheduled to be held next
year, and some analysts predict that Abdullah will
call a snap national election some time after
March to consolidate his power before party
problems further unravel.
But as more
Mahathir loyalists line up behind Najib, arguably
UMNO's most powerful and respected member, there
is a risk of a UMNO-splintering power struggle.
Some political analysts contend this could tempt
Abdullah to bring former deputy prime minister
Anwar back into the UMNO fold. Anwar, widely
viewed as a strong reform advocate, is officially
barred from politics until 2008, the year before
Abdullah's term ends.
Najib, in an
exclusive interview last week with Asia Times
Online at his sprawling office at Putrajaya, the
administrative capital outside Kuala Lumpur, said:
"Anwar cited that he's siding with [the Justice
Party]. He has made many, many statements that he
... has no intention of joining UMNO. So I guess
we will see Anwar as part of the opposition in the
landscape of Malaysian politics." Judging by his
body language, though, Najib clearly preferred to
change the interview topic.
Economic
challenges Najib readily acknowledges the
challenge of transforming Malaysia from a
manufacturing-based economy into an innovative,
knowledge-based one. "We have to realize that the
world is more and more competitive, and I don't
think that's quite sunk in across the board in
Malaysia," says Najib during the interview.
"Unless you go out there, in New York, say, then
you realize, looking at Malaysia, through that
prism, that you really must put your act
together."
In multi-racial Malaysia, that
has historically meant preserving tolerance and
harmony between the majority Muslim Malays and the
sizeable Chinese and Indian minorities. "It is
delicate. Once you upset the balance, you unleash
forces which you may not be able to control," says
Najib. "So we are very wary of doing something
that might upset the apple cart."
Striking
that balance has involved a controversial
affirmative action program, known as the New
Economic Policy, introduced by Najib's father in
1971 to help the Malays catch up with the more
economic-minded Chinese and imposing curbs to
freedom of expression and thought, such as the
broadly worded Sedition Act, which criminalizes
speech that may "excite disaffection against" the
government, or promote "feelings of ill-will and
hostility between different races".
The
social contract has produced mixed results. It was
implemented in response to the 1969 race riots
between the ethnic Malays and Chinese, which at
the time threatened to tear the young country
apart. The program was originally designed to last
20 years but has since been extended indefinitely
by the Malay-led government, leading to growing
resentment among the Chinese and Indians and a
stigma of welfare dependency among the Malays.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's restricted political
and social environments for the sake of racial
unity has simultaneously stifled creativity and
the development of the dynamic workforce necessary
to see through Malaysia's dream of becoming a
developed nation by 2020. The government's
long-term racial balancing act is failing to
adequately address modern economic and social
challenges, say critics. However, Najib takes
issue with such criticisms.
"Policy-wise.
UMNO is a very pragmatic party," he told ATol. "We
don't have any fixed ideology ... because of that
we're able to adjust UMNO's policies according to
different circumstances." As an example, he cited
how UMNO recognized early on that the nation's
private sector was weak and through its policies
turned it into a viable engine of economic growth.
Yet last month Najib called for a
reexamination of UMNO's race-based policies. "UMNO
will not succeed if we just continue to defend the
[racial] status quo," he said, according to news
reports. "Yes, we can build this and that using
the [political] powers that we have, but can we
change the attitude of the Malays? That is what we
should ask ourselves, as this is the factor which
will determine whether Malays can progress
further."
At other turns, Najib has
reaffirmed his commitment to race-based policies,
with the belief that it will placate all of
Malaysia's ethnic groups. "UMNO will continue to
be a party that protects the interests of the
Malays and Muslims and brings prosperity to all
the people in the country," he said in August. To
do this, he told ATol, the emphasis must be on
growth and distribution - but growth first. "Only
with growth can we have equal distribution."
But there's an increasing sense around
Malaysia that the changes UMNO has made haven't
gone far enough. It's become axiomatic - even
Malaysia's leaders make the point - that Malaysia
has a first-world infrastructure but a Third World
mentality. Najib openly admires other countries
where social and economic development have
synergized, citing America as a prime example. "We
do admire a lot of things about America - the fact
that they allow creativity to flourish in America.
In other societies you don't get that."
Worldly power
broker British-educated, Najib cuts a
worldly profile. "I am equally comfortable sitting
in a surau in my constituency or having
dinner at Simpson's on the Strand," Najib was once
quoted as saying, referring to an upscale London
restaurant. Najib does not seem to share
Mahathir's inferiority complex toward the West,
nor does he share the former premier's impulse to
scapegoat the West for Malaysia's problems.
Many feel that Malaysia needs a more
worldly leader to reach out to the West and
maintain the country's competitive edge. The
question, of course, is whether Najib would
translate that knowledge and perspective into
political action should he ever become prime
minister.
With its myriad races and
simmering tensions, Malaysia is not an easy place
to govern, and this has over the years informed
UMNO's cautious, conservative approach - even
though the party's strong majority has given it
the power to implement policies almost at will.
Previous governments have arguably erred toward
abuse and complacency rather than reform.
Increasingly that is the on-the-ground perception
surrounding Abdullah's stalled fight against
corruption, cronyism and nepotism.
It's
unclear how much that would change under a
Najib-led administration. Najib has in his long
political career established a vast network of
loyalists, comprised of political and bureaucratic
veterans and powerful business brokers, both
domestically and overseas. "He is the most well
connected politician in Malaysia," notes Shamsul
Amri Baharuddin, director of the Institute of
Malay World and Civilization, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia.
"He's been in six
different ministries, and this has helped him
build relationships among many different people.
And he's shown an ability to dish out the goodies,
country-wide, from Kedah to Johor," he added,
referring to two states at opposite ends of
Malaysia's peninsula.
Najib's power
sources begin close to home. His brother Nazri is
the chief executive of CIMB, Malaysia's biggest
investment bank which maintains a global presence.
Nazri and two other brothers, Nizam and Johari,
are also involved in GP Ocean Food, the country's
biggest integrated fisheries group. Najib's cousin
is Hishammudin Hussein, education minister and son
of Malaysia's third prime minister Hussein Onn.
Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, is also said
to wield significant political influence. Najib
reportedly maintains close ties with the state oil
giant Petronas and with many prominent
businessmen, including tycoon Vincent Tan. Najib
also "holds the dollar bags of the Defense
Ministry," as one Kuala Lumpur-based analyst,
requesting anonymity, puts it.
Transparency is scant in Malaysia. The
Official Secrets Act, for instance, restricts
access to information of public interest, making
it difficult to accurately gauge the extent of
Najib's influence and connections. Economically,
Najib may prove to be a cross between Abdullah and
Mahathir. In his public speeches he has called for
streamlining approval procedures for potential
foreign investors. He has applauded a number of
Abdullah's economic policies, including the
targeting of value-added large-scale agriculture
and hi-tech as future sources of domestic growth.
And like Abdullah he has emphasized the need to
return to fiscal balance.
Toward that end,
Abdullah has scrapped a number of mega-projects
that Mahathir initiated. Najib, however, has left
the door open to restarting some of those
projects, including a deferred double-tracking
rail project. As with Abdullah, Najib would also
likely pursue a more Western-friendly foreign
policy than the sometimes combative Mahathir did.
"[The US] respects our sovereignty ... if, for
example, they want aircraft carriers to cross our
territory they ask for our permission. It's a
healthy relationship," says Najib in the
interview.
At the same time, it doesn't
appear Najib would stray much from Malaysia's
draconian tradition toward civil liberties and
human rights. He has been known to support
restrictions on the media and has defended the use
of civil liberty-curbing laws, such as the
Internal Securities Act, which allows for
indefinite detention without trial. Significantly,
Najib's office oversees Suhakam, the government's
human-rights commission.
"His role has
been to dampen Suhakam's role in dealing with
rights issues," contends Tian Chua, information
chief of the opposition Justice Party. "He has
helped Suhakam avoid tackling controversial
human-rights cases." Najib has said Malaysia will
introduce democratic reforms, but "it must be an
evolution not a revolution, not through street
demonstrations because this will create anarchy
and chaos".
Likewise, Najib has done less
than some would have hoped in tackling endemic
government corruption. After UMNO's 2004 elections
there were numerous allegations of money politics.
Rather than calling for an independent
investigation, Najib's response was to urge those
making the allegations to come forward. Last year,
amid criticism that the Abdullah administration's
corruption drive had netted only one high-level
politician, Najib said, "This is the start of
UMNO's fight against money politics. We will
continue to pursue it." But no high-level
politicians have been formally charged since.
Elsewhere, Najib has said that allegations
of vote-buying within UMNO should be an internal
affair and not probed by the Anti-Corruption
Agency. When a code of ethics was introduced by
Abdullah in 2004, Najib publicly applauded the
move, saying it would deter government officials
from abusing power. Critics, however, say the new
code is in the main toothless, falling well short
of requiring politicians and officials to declare
their assets before taking office.
Najib
said during the ATol interview that he favors new
measures to strengthen investigative procedures in
corruption cases and to empower the now weak
disciplinary commission. And he sounded genuinely
concerned about how corruption and corruption
allegations could damage UMNO and the nation. Says
Najib: "Once the party's corrupted you elect the
wrong leaders."
In the preface to his
latest book, Globalizing Malaysia, Najib
stresses the need to turn Malaysia into a
"balanced society", one that is caring,
knowledgeable and economically vibrant, saying
Malaysians must be prepared to "make adjustments
and sacrifices as we tread our way forward".
Najib's 31-year political career may well lead him
to the premiership. But taking the country forward
socially, economically and intellectually will
likely require breaking with that same past.
Ioannis Gatsiounis, a New York
native, has worked as a freelance foreign
correspondent and previously co-hosted a weekly
political/cultural radio call-in show in the US.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd.
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