100 days after GE13, Najib still looking for a direction-- analyst

KUALA LUMPUR: A full 100 days of helming the country following the 13th General Election(GE13), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is seen to be still looking for a direction for the nation.

This, according to political analyst Prof Madya Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin, was partly because policies announced by Najib four years prior have yet to achieve the desired outcomes.

Shaharuddin said that the GE13 results showed that the rakyat did not accept Najib-era policies after administration was taken over from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Najib, he said, is seen to be reconsidering several of his previous decisions after Barisan Nasional suffered its worst defeat in history and flailing performance since 2008.

"After GE13, he seems to be looking at whether to continue with the policy announced last four years or review all the much talked about reforms,” he said.

“If we look at Najib’s first 100 days after GE13, it is unclear what is the direction he wants to take us, he talks about national reconciliation but until today that is still unclear, in what form will it take?”

“By right, when he announced the intention to have national reconciliation, he needed to explain in what form and how it is to be implemented,” he told Astro AWANI.

Aside from that, Shaharuddin is also of the view that 100 days after retaining the mandate to rule, Najib is also seen to have formed an imperfect cabinet with more positions given to Sabah and Sarawak leaders compared to those from Semenajung.

He added that the prime minister’s failure to court MCA representatives to take up cabinet positions also prove that the first 100 days was quite bitter for Najib.

“From the angle of appointing cabinet ministers, we see that there were too many Sabah and Sarawak leaders that there are too many programmes focused on East Malaysia and is no longer national,” he said, citing women’s and housing issues, many of which he said are focused on East Malaysia.

From the Umno perspective, Shaharuddin said that Najib is seen as using his first 100 days to fortify his position among party members.

"This year, Umno will be having its election and despite the better showing of Umno in GE13, it does not guarantee that Najib will remain as president,” he said.