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Family ties take root in Malaysian politics
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-04 14:13 KUALA LUMPUR -- Politics often appears to be a family affair in Asia with Pakistan's Bhuttos, India's Gandhis and the Lees in Singapore; now Malaysia looks set to join the party.
Najib Razak, the 55-year-old son of Malaysia's second premier and the nephew of the third, will take the helm in March at a time when this Asian nation of 27 million people grapples with economic problems and rising political and ethnic tensions. Another rising star of the party that has ruled Malaysia for all 51 years of its existence as a country is Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of its longest-serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad. On the opposition benches in parliament sits Nurul Izzah Anwar and her father, veteran politician Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is a former deputy premier who once looked set for the top job until he was kicked out of the ruling party and jailed on what he says were false charges. "There is an Asian belief that political power can be passed on to the next generation through bloodline," said James Chin, political science professor at Monash University in Malaysia. Critics say the sense that blood entitles a person to exercise power has generated corruption, stymied development and hampered good government. More often than not, the progeny of political leaders fail to live up to the family name. "If Malaysians or foreigners expect Najib to be like his father as PM, they will be greatly disappointed," said Abdullah Ahmad, a political author and a former aide to Najib's father. Najib, who has a bachelor's degree in economics, will take over at a time when a re-energised opposition led by Anwar is seeking to gain power and when economic growth is skidding due to global financial turmoil. Adding to his troubles, Najib will need to address Malaysia's failure to keep up with more nimble neighbours in the competitiveness and investment stakes. Growth in Malaysia's export-oriented economy looks set to fall to 3.4 percent next year, the lowest since 2001. The budget deficit has soared due to spending on fuel subsidies and national infrastructure projects, according to the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research, a leading think-tank. "I pity Najib. He's taking over from the worst of times and from a man who messed things up," said Abdullah Ahmad, referring to the outgoing premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Family Affair Najib has been in parliament since the tender age of 22 when he took over the seat of his father, who died in office. He has held posts in the sports, education and defence ministries and now holds the powerful finance portfolio. His father Abdul Razak Hussein designed Malaysia's race-based system which was supposed to help ethnic Malays climb the economic ladder. His uncle, Hussein Onn is credited with forging unity among the races during his premiership. Najib's family links run to the heart of politics and business; his cousin is education minister and his younger brother Nazir runs Malaysia's second-largest bank CIMB. |
