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| Najib during his interview with ‘Talk to Al Jazeera’, journalist Veronica Pedrosa which was aired last Saturday. |
Al Jazeera: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, thank you very much for joining us on "Talk To Al Jazeera". We appreciate that it must be an extraordinarily busy and crucial time for you. There are descriptions of the election ahead as being indeed a struggle for the Malay soul, as it were. Do you think that's a fair enough description?
Najib: Let me put it this way, I think this will be a very hard-fought, robust election but I welcome it because in a sense, it is reflective of how far we have come in the democratic process in Malaysia. We are much more matured in that sense. But as a political party, we have been in power for 55 years (and) within this time we have brought some real changes and development in Malaysia. So although I expect this to be a keenly-fought contest, I am cautiously optimistic that the voters will return the Barisan Nasional (BN) national front back into power.
How do you personally feel about that? You've been in politics since you were 22. You come from a political dynasty.
In that sense (yes) but my father died when I entered politics so he was not there to ensure that I rose in politics. I had to do it my way, albeit with a good family name, I have no doubt about that. That helped but I had to fend for myself. I had to show that I could stand on my own. I'm proud of my personal record because I have risen through the ranks step by step and now I am privileged and honoured to be able to lead this country and my party.
When you speak about the Malaysian people, it seems from surveys that they are differentiating between yourself (and your party). Your personal approval has risen in the four years that you speak of but your party, Umno, remains rather unpopular. How do you explain that?
I think in the sense that I have changed and I've taken this personal commitment that I need to change with the times. And as a leader of the party and head of the government, I must spearhead the changes and basically, I believe I am a reform-minded leader of this country. I have brought about unprecedented changes in the political, economic as well as the entire governmental sphere. But I will concede that a party will take time because a party is a collection of … if you talk about Umno, 3.2 million people, it's the strongest party. We have that strength, the single largest party with over three million members. But to change a big party will take time.
The election is two weeks weeks away…
But people must believe that Umno is on track to change. (You) can see that we have put in new faces.
Are they new candidates?
Yes, new candidates ... (and) we are more responsive to the needs of the people and more people friendly. We are also engaging with the wider constituencies because one of the things I want Umno to realise is that it's not good just being a leader of Umno, a divisional leader of Umno, if you like. But you must also have the support of all the others who are not your customers or not your supporters. Hence, Umno has to realise that it has to have the broad appeal.
Those people who are not your customers, according to the survey, 21% undecided, 42% would vote for BN, 37% for the Opposition – Pakatan Rakyat. Twenty one per cent is a lot of people and they come from the very diverse society here in Malaysia. It's one of the things that Malaysia is very proud of. But obviously you are also aware that it is also criticised for having a race-based political system. And that's one of the things analysts say is kind of under test at this point. You spoke about your candidates and how 30% of them are going to be new faces but one of them is not a new face and is criticised for having made anti-Hindu statements. I'm talking about, for people who are familiar with Malaysian politics, a man named (Datuk) Zulkifli Noordin. Is he really an ideal candidate, if that is what you are trying to put across?
He has changed. He made that statement 10 years ago when he was in PAS.
But the video has gone viral…
Exactly, but he did it 10 years ago and he has apologised and he has repented. And mind you, at that time, he even criticised me, but now he has come on board… He was in the PAS party and you know what (that) party is all about. They had a very skewed and warped view of things at that time.
What is the PAS party all about?
It's a very theocratic and inward-looking party. It is not really a party that stands for real moderation, progress and modernity.
But they are slating candidates from other races. People are extremely surprised they fielded Chinese candidates.
Yes... but that is just window dressing. I mean they are committed to introduce hudud and syariah and theocratic Islamic policies in this country, so do you really think one or two Chinese candidates will make a difference?
Would you be ready to face the Opposition politicians in a debate? Could we see, during the campaign, Prime Minister Najib facing off with Anwar Ibrahim?
You know there are many ways in which we can reach out to the public. Debate is only one form of reaching out to the people; it's not the only way.
But if you look at the policies of the manifestos, Malaysians are comparing them and thinking they are not really that different.
Oh no, on the contrary, they are poles apart. We have done the numbers and the manifesto of the Opposition is solely irresponsible, physically irresponsible and it is not doable. It is purely populist; and this would lead to a catastrophic outcome for the country. For example, in the first year, the deficit of the country will go up to 11.5% and the state of current account surplus that would help the government, immediately overnight we will be in deficit. In other words, we will be borrowing money to pay salaries, subsidies and so forth.
You lived part of your life, we are talking about your education, in the UK. In the UK, you don't need to write what race you belong to when you apply for various loans. For some people, that is something they don't understand, the so many layers that talk about race, religion and it's extremely sensitive as you say and in Malaysia, do you see a time when people won't be asked these questions, when it won't matter?
Yes, eventually. You see what we believe in is...
In your administration?
Yes...we believe that to be, to have a strong and prosperous Malaysia, what is important is the underpinning. The underpinning is social justice in the sense that wealth in this country should be distributed equitably between the various races because if you have huge divergence in wealth, that might lead to instability, political instability and I can quote you many examples of that. So what is important for us as we progress as a nation is to ensure that the wealth of the nation is distributed fairly and there is social justice in this country.
Poverty is particularly bad in Sabah and Sarawak and the people there often complain that there is less development, difficulty, yet are very important politically in this election campaign. On top of that, there is a strong sense of corruption, particularly in the government of the state, particularly after, I'm sure you are aware of the Global Witness film called "Inside Malaysia's Secret or Shadow State." What is being done about corruption, seriously?
It is one of the priorities in my administration. As part of our National Key Result Areas, we have listed corruption as one of the seven important areas and we have instituted quite a number of important changes and reforms to combat corruption. It will not go away overnight. It's a process but important steps have been undertaken, for example, we have the Whistleblowers Act and we have strengthened the anti-corruption agency, MACC. In fact, it is part of my election promise that there will be an independent commission to employ future officers of MACC so that they are able to select their own people. We have also made government contracts more transparent, introduced harsher punishments, prosecuted 500 cases etc...so results are actually beginning to show.
What about this call for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the corruption of which the chief minister is accused?
I am not referring to any particular case but all cases will be investigated by the MACC. That is the due process and we shouldn't jump to any conclusions.
But they can't prosecute, can they?
They have powers to prosecute but prosecution lies within the Attorney-General but like every case, they must do the proper investigation and they must produce strong evidence that can be brought to court.
Isn't that also the case there that Chief Minister Taib is very important politically. Sabah and Sarawak are crucial politically for the elections, they could be the swing vote.
Yes, but no one is above the law ... but it has to be predicated on a due process.
Prime Minister, while we are talking about the situation in East Malaysia, let's talk a little bit about Sabah. There was this extraordinary, almost bizarre event, the Lahad Datu stand-off when people came and landed from the Philippines, heavily armed men, fighters, they then got into a deadly situation. So it kind of moved from bizarre to down right brutal and the the Malaysian armed forces acted very, crackdown, very hard some would say. Can you tell us what you think happened? Why this occurred?
First of all, we wanted to avoid any bloodshed. So my mandate to the security forces is that we should try diplomacy first and we allowed time before we decided that we needed to take military action against them but they were the ones who actually started shooting and killing two of our policemen and at that point of time, I decided that enough is enough and I ordered a complete crackdown on them. It is a legitimate response of any government but nevertheless, we did allow them some time for diplomacy to take place but unfortunately, they chose otherwise. The word is bizarre because really 100 men crossing over as you said heavily armed, couldn't possibly try to overthrow a government or take over Sabah or even a small part of Sabah and certainly whatever they did, is inexcusable because it was suicidal, it was a suicidal mission and for them to have done it, there must have been some kind of promise for them or some support.
Do you expect an election impact because my understanding is that there was some talk about the ethnic group to which the fighters belong, which live on both sides of the border, disputed as it is, that they want to break away from the Barisan Nasional coalition?
No, first of all, let me correct you. The international demarcation has already been settled so there is no dispute about that. Secondly, the Suluk people are very happy to be part of Malaysia and to support the BN government. In fact, immediately after the incident, we engaged with the leaders of the Suluk community and they have expressed their wholehearted support for the BN government. So I don't see this as affecting our political standing, if anything at all, it has strengthened BN's position in Sabah.
In the Philippines, there is a sense that the Malaysians are cracking down on people who have moved there from the Philippines, of whom there are many who are illegal, stateless, they are fleeing the country. What is really happening down there?
There is no crackdown as such but we need to have a long-term solution because the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah is a big issue, particularly with the Kadazan Dusun. They feel very uncomfortable with the presence of so many illegals in Sabah. So we do need to have a long-term solution but a long-term solution that must respect human rights of those concerning, including the illegals.
Let's talk about the campaign, it could get very dirty, how do you want the campaign to go?
I would like the campaign to focus more on policies, on what kind of direction Malaysia should take, the future destiny of Malaysia and who can be trusted to lead Malaysia and to deliver Malaysia in a way that fulfil the people's expectations.
There is a worry that we could see the first hung parliament on the basis of results. Apparently this is something analysts and pollsters can't rule out. Can you see Umno working with PKR?
First of all, it is not an outcome that's good for the country because anything less than a strong mandate will lead to greater uncertainty. But the markets in the last few days have become more positive, the stock exchange; the ringgit has gone stronger. So I think it bodes well for the general expectation that BN will do well this election.
Do you think you can do business under a big tent?
You know anything is possible in politics because I am someone who really wants peace. I want this country to be stable. I feel this country has so much promise for the future and anyone who believes in that, who wants to work constructively with me, I will welcome that. But if you embark on policies that will undermine the future interest of Malaysia, then that's something different.
What happened to your predecessor might happen to you. If BN doesn't win convincingly as in gaining back one of its lost constituencies and winning half of the seats, that could be the end of the Najib administration. What would you want people to know about your record, to remember about your record?
I am not ready to write my legacy yet and I am working tirelessly to ensure that BN will win, and win convincingly and I am taking one step at a time. To me, that's pure academic to go into that kind of argument... in any case, as I said, Umno will be a more democratic party and they are free to choose their leaders.
(Source: The Sun Daily)
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