The "Defence" of Putrajaya

What is Najib really trying to get at? Desperate to defend their presence in Putrajaya from the undesirables, ie. the Opposition. The Star Online had published a watered down version of the story though, knowing that the issues which the PM had raised may stir up public sentiment:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/28/nation/20110528204228&sec=nation

For those who have access to Malaysiakini, a more complete account of the rally is found here:

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/165405

I'd like to raise a couple of points in response to the call to defend Putrajaya. First of all, let us clarify what Putrajaya really is. Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, which centrally controls government policy and funding allocation. It is representative of the majority of the parliament, with the model based on the Westminster Parliament. In no where and in no way can a so-called democratic system allow the right of government to be confined with one political party. Therefore the very assertion that Putrajaya is a fort and should be defended against an enemy is absolutely absurd and it insults the very institution that a parliamentary system is based on.

Najib, furthermore is using the opportunity to come and official what is supposedly a non-partisan event and turn it into a party-political. Though not quite to the level of inciting racial hatred, he is desperately making attempts to incite party hatred:

"The opposition said that they want to lelong (auction) off Putrajaya. Will we allow them to sell Putrajaya off? No!" he exclaimed.

"We won't let them sell off Putrajaya because one million youth will be here to defend Putrajaya,"

How did he come to the conclusion that the opposition would want to sell off Putrajaya? On the contrary, the opposition wants the chance to govern! Dismantling the seat of power and selling it off would be completely detrimental to the opposition cause, so to suggest it has far reaching political implications, short of feeding lies to the public. If Najib had been schooled in politics 101, he would know that the key to winning elections is not the truth, but whatever you make the people believe.

Najib goes on to say:

"Here we are, the youth together with the government. If the youth back the government, our country will be peaceful.

"Then we will be able to implement all our developmental and transformation plans for the prosperity of this country," he said.

Here again, it directly implies that the opposition is incapable of keeping the peace. Or he is suggesting, if the opposition were to win, BN would ensure the country descends into a civil war? Surely this cannot be the case, but the Prime Minister would do better than to allege such things.

The other point raised is the implementation of the developmental and transformation plans for the future prosperity for the government. I am sorry Mr Prime Minister, but Barisan Nasional has been in power since independence in 1957. For 54 years the party has managed great progress but fell into corrupt practices which resulted in progress costing a lot more than it should have. The income gap has widened, literacy is falling, and the future generations can no longer afford to live in this kind of society.

In short, despite all the money and resources you had in your arsenal, the best you could come up with is the Economic Transformation Programme which would cause inflation, enrich cronies and has no hope of making Malaysia a high income nation. If you have failed to eradicate hardcore poverty in 54 years, something which the DAP government in Penang managed to achieve in 2 years with limited funding, your "People First, Performance Now" campaign is utterly meaningless.

Keep calling for the youth to support your cause Mr. Prime Minister. You would need it come polling day.