Saturday, November 26, 2011

Maal Hijrah

1433, general election year? During an interview with a TV station this week, Dr Mahathir was asked how he thought Najib Razak has fared as Prime Minister of Malaysia. 

"Better than the previous one," the Tun reportedly replied. 

That's the part of the interview you'd not get to watch when they air the interview. When the editor told me about the censored bit last night, I laughed my head off. No disrespect to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, really, I don't think much of him these days but I still think he was one of our best Foreign Ministers, even though many said King Ghaz was the one. I covered Abdullah a lot when he was FM: in Singapore, Manila Jakarta, Bangkok, Vienna, Washington, New York, and a few other places. He was sure and firm on so many issues, from Myanmar to the former Yugoslavia. That he had Mahathir as boss was one of the reasons Abdullah was always on his toes. 

Then he became Prime Minister, and the rest, you know. Looking back, I'm sure it was not Abdullah who wanted to fight Dr Mahathir. It was some people around him took advantage of him. It got to their heads, the little power they had. 

Now Najib is PM. Two and a half years on, he's due to steer the nation into the 13th General Election.  The last GE, called amid great discontent for Abdullah's leadership, was the worst for the coalition that Najib now heads. Will Najib do better than Abdullah? Will any of the states that fell into Pakatan Rakyat's hands return to BN's fold?

The people will decide. My only hope is that Najib be judged for his strengths instead of his foes' weaknesses, and for the transformation or "hijrah" that he's been trying to get all of us to embrace. There's great likelihood that he will call for the 13th GE during the Hijrah year 1433, which starts tomorrow. If that's so, this new year will be a very meaningful one.

Selamat ber-Hijrah. Let us do everything better this year.

The PM's Maal Hijrah message, h e r e.

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:56 pm

    Rocky, can you please give Pak Lah a break ??

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  2. Selamat Tahun Baru Rocky. :)

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  3. Anonymous11:07 pm

    Rocky,

    Contrary to what Mahathir said in his comparison between Najib and Pak Lah

    Najib + Rosmah

    is WORSE than

    Pak Lah + Khairi

    The only reason that Mahathir favoured Najib is because Najib took care of his son (ministership and all) whilst Pak Lah allowed Khairy to run rough shod over him and his son.



    BonJourno

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  4. q0l0p2:16 am

    Pirrrahhh... Dia ingat dia baguih sangat!!! Apa semua bala yg menimpa UMNO ni salah orang jer ker Ko tak salah!!!???

    Abdullah da buat salah dan telah dihukum, apa ko nak bising2 sampai kiamat ni.. Sedangkan banyak kesalahan ko yang belum terhukum tau!! yang ko guna kerjaan untuk selamatkan anak2 ko dari bengkrap tak salah ker..? Kalu tak kerana Abdullah, BN da lingkup pada PRU1998 tau. Mandat yang ada sekarang ni pun mandat Dollah tau!

    Ko jer pandai dan betul.. Masaalah Anwar yang ada ni ko la yg buat! biar selama bertahun tahun nuar bertelur bawah ko.

    Ko kata ko operasi Lalang dibuat aias ikut kata IGP.. bagus la ikut nasihat pegawai, tapi IGP hanif Omar da lapur kat ko lama sebelum tu lagi yang perangai anwar sebenar, ko buat derk jer ekh!! bela dia bertahun2. Bila nuar nak makan ko, baru la sibuk nak gunakan asas liwat yang Ummi bagi tau tu. Ko da tahu perangai nuar ni pertama kali dari Hanif omar bai.. bukan Ummi Hafilda. tapi ko diam sampai la 1998.

    Yang ko jeles sangat kat Dollah tu apa hal!!! Yang ko mengkhianat UMNO pada 2008 tu bukan penyebab BN goyah???


    ** Sorry bro, Saya dengan guna bahasa kesat jer leh menaglir idea ni. Da lama da aku pendam... kenapa la mamak sorang ni do jaki sangat kat dolah. tiap kali bukak mulut jer ada la bau busuk kua... aku pun da hilang respek kat mamak ni.!!!

    -Suka hati u la nak siar komen saya ni ke tidak-

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  5. Anonymous8:07 am

    Your never ending ass kissing is getting embarrassing.

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  6. Anonymous10:03 am

    Najib is sinful! Pak Lah is not.

    BL

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  7. Anonymous1:52 pm

    RB,

    I agree with you it was not him who wanted to fight TDM. But then, he was completely overwhelmed by people around him spearheaded by his new found SIL, particularly after the land slide victory in the 2004 GE, that he became totally helpless to say 'NO'to anything to them.

    The biggest victory in the 2004 GE is also the biggest loss in the 2008 GE. With Tun Abdullah already in their pocket and in the state of paralysis, the young and inexperienced chickos (TDM termed them as Fourth Floor boys), the 2004 GE victory made them run loose and wild, sweeping out everything in their path.

    The biggest mistake these greenhorns ever made was to demonise TDM. The rest is history.

    Unfortunately, DSNTR has to pick up the pieces. Pray that he succeeds.

    ZMS

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  8. Ibnu Sina, Selamat Tahun Baru.

    Anon 856pm,
    I am giving Dollah a break lah. Am telling you in this posting that it was his people (ie Kali and machais) who did Dollah in. Dollah, on his part, was just too in love to be PM.

    Agree with ZMS. Totally.

    Disagree with q010p. Totally. But it's your right mate. Yang gua tak mau publish lu punya komen, apahal pulak. Lu quite tertib, what, compared to the people you are supporting in your comment. Salam.

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  9. Rocky,
    Some of your commentators need to take anti-depressant pills la.
    Btw, Happy New Year (forgot to say earlier). Salute

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  10. Anonymous6:02 pm

    Like the " Lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu ' besok gua kasi 5 juta ' speech better...

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  11. Anonymous7:50 pm

    It was Tun M warning to UMNO central committee that Rust Never Sleep...

    Prof Awe Kecik

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  12. Najib, I will vote for BN because I like what you are doing to our country. I would love things to remain status quo, but I know it is impossible. The time has come for the non bumiputera to be given greater role. The rich towkays are a already fine. The non Malay Professionals should be given a greater role to bring this nation to further glory. The well being of the poor non Malays must be addressed.
    Pakatan can dream of taking over Putrajaya. If they are cock sure they won't be making public statements that they are ready. The voters will know if they are ready or not. Right now I as a voter knows they are not and will not be ready. Dap is to racist, Pas has no national agenda and PKR is sick.

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  13. trifling-jester10:07 pm

    rocky, do your knees get calluses seeing that youre always down on them these days

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  14. Thuraisingham Shan11:12 pm

    Mathir did not have perfect Vision 20/20, his vision 2020 programme was declared to be in peril, his vision 2020 was omly a statement, which did not have the logistics for development, Vision 2020 should end its era 0n 31st December2011, Najib should work on anew Malaysian Millenium Mission

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  15. Anonymous1:34 am

    Quote: "My only hope is that Najib be judged for his strengths instead of his foes' weaknesses, and for the transformation or "hijrah" that he's been trying to get all of us to embrace."

    You're trying to make things simple. If Najib is the best among those whom are always last in the class. Choosing the best among the worst, you have made your point simple. We want the Best Man in Malaysia to run the show. Ask yourself is he the best man for it?

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  16. Ex-Journalist Now Soothsayer2:08 am

    Orang Ketiga

    Agree with you on the last sentence, the rest is garbage but you are entitled to your views.

    Najib will win comfortably alright but he is not in Mahathir's class bya 100 kilometres. Najib's naivete is exposed by his pathetic craving for Chinese support at the expense of his core constituency, the bumiputeras. His ridiculous repealing of the ISA and other security laws further exhibited the simpleton in him than the latent technocrat lurking fearfully beneath for some unfathomable reason. Laughable as to how he is desperately trying to undo the damage with a slew of half baked legislation! Shows yet again, if aint broken, dont get itchy to break it!!! His pussyfooting with the pariah bitch, Ambiga and co also endear him to the core constituency.

    Najib is certainly miles better than the village idiot of sleepyhead Dollah, who wasnt above a country bumpkin during his FM days, and his scheming silly SILhoutte, a megalomaniac with infantile brains and an imbecile sidekick in Kali the witch of a bitch.

    But Najib despite his average handling of the economy, needs to improve, more bumi-favouring initaitives would be a good start, a comprehensive reform of the economy, a tightening of legislation and not a sen for the non-bumi immigrant (pendatang) sponges who are tottaly undeserving of anything let alone help. Najib should not worry about being pro-bumi as he can romp home comfortably with Bumiputera support alone.

    Whatever, PR are finished as a political coalition (reason for that adjective political) after GE 13, mark my words, as grassroot whispers of the electorate indicate, with PAS and PKR being the biggest losers.

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