Najib, are you up for this?

It is a very interesting and challenging time for Najib Abdul Razak. I believe his first 100 days as prime minister will be truly eventful.

The first test of his leadership came from an unexpected source. Voters not only denied Barisan Nasional (BN) the Bukit Selambau state seat in Kedah, but gave it to PKR by a greater margin in the by-election of April 7.

If one had relied only on the mainstream media for information, one would have gained the impression that the seat would be convincingly won by BN – what with the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) pulling out support for the PKR candidate, and a PKR branch head resigning with his so-called followers. Now everyone can sandiwara !

Still, between the ‘two sets’ of Indians in Bukit Selambau, nothing different happened – the people still voted against the past arrogance of Umno and its Ketuanan Melayu syndrome. Najib’s priority, I hope, will be to change all this.

Now that the reality of the signals from March 8, 2008 and April 7, 2009 are sinking in, even hitherto irrelevant MIC is concerned about its demotion in the cabinet. The simple truth is visible for the world to see in the cabinet line-up.

Umno’s representatives have always been the prime minister and deputy premier. MCA is next in seniority. Then comes MIC – but when MIC is only represented by its secretary-general in the current cabinet, surely it reflects a further loss of seniority.

In history, as in warfare, numbers do matter. A smaller party like that of Bernard Dompok, which has more seats in Parliament, obtained a higher position in the cabinet after those from the peninsula – barring MIC. As president of his party and minister of long standing, Dompok has earned his stripes.

So, I fail to see why MIC is now bickering over the cabinet portfolios. Mr ‘Semi Value’, your time is truly up – ordinary voters of Sungai Siput told you so last year. Therefore, please give Najib a break and resign.

If S Subramaniam becomes MIC president, he will surely be promoted in the next cabinet reshuffle. So, be wise like the Hindraf leaders, who now are now doing ‘soul searching’ to find out whether their say is as strong as the electoral ‘swing’ attributed to the movement.

Najib has, however, made a good start by shutting down the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry. Wrongly conceptualised, it had become an agency for dishing out goodies to bumiputera players who were labeled ‘entrepreneurs’.

In my lexicon, real entrepreneurs take risk with their own money and not with government funds! Risk funds are made available only after some earnest risks are taken.

In the new cabinet, the ministry’s functions have been streamlined to support mainstream industries and players. This will reduce the real risks of entrepreneurship and cut off traditional dependencies through government aid. Such risks can be transferred to investment banks.

Make a difference

The second test lies in Hindraf’s 100-day deadline for Najib to make a difference on some of their claims. Will he meet and hear them out? This was the categorical failure of the former PM. Najib at least has earned their willingness to listen to him because he released two of their leaders from detention under the Internal Security Act after taking office.

Just meet them, hear them out and promise to take relevant action to resolve serious issues – there will be plenty of mileage in this. They are neither criminals nor crooks, but Malaysians concerned about issues that have been neglected for ages by the so-called Indian representative party.

If more than 40,000 Indian Malaysians still do not have proper documentation to qualify for their Mykad , then something is fundamentally wrong. The MIC must shoulder the blame for their predicament.

Najib should get the Human Resources Minister to find out why Malaysians even as old as 50 do not have official personal documents. This should be made part of the KPIs for ‘Indian representatives’ as, obviously, the MIC has not been able to redress the issue all this time.

The third test comes from Terengganu where the old guard are planning to recapture the gravy train, after losing out last year to the candidate approved by the state palace. Will not this create a new Perak-type problem of leadership within Terengganu – and do we really want to ‘force’ royalty into this quagmire created by leaders with vested interests? Is the impending crisis good for either the nation or the state?

What will serve the people of Terengganu? Does the person of the menteri besar really make a difference to the party so long as he is clean and provides good leadership? What then are the real undercurrents? Najib has ruled and advised those concerned on his preferred views, but let us wait and see what happens.

The final test for Najib involves his credibility and acceptance by the global community and in Malaysia. I believe that there is a sizeable community of the Bangsa Malaysia vintage who want Najib to clear his name over the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case. To me, there is no better way than to meet her father and deal out the truth by clarifying foggy issues.

True leadership needs political will to do what is good, true and right. The skills needed to resolve outstanding issues through due process arise out of political will and steely determination.

So, all the best Mr Prime Minister, as you face these early tests of real leadership!