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Family ties take root in Malaysian politics
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-04 14:13 Najib's recent move on the top job has been marked by continued attacks on his integrity by the opposition and by Internet bloggers obsessed with a lurid murder trial that involved Najib's former aide. The aide was acquitted, but not before Najib had to issue statements denying involvement.
Many political observers believe Najib may simply owe too much to too many people to stake out a separate political identity. He still needs to win a party election to take the top job, although he appears to have no real competition. "He (Najib) was coddled and helped all along, first by his uncle Hussein Onn and then by Mahathir, the man who owed a debt of gratitude to his father," said Zainon Ahmad, political editor of the local Sun newspaper. "Only now I think Najib has to be on his own," he said. Mahathir's Shadow Looms Large When he took the reins of power in 2003, current prime minister Abdullah looked like a tonic for a country that had grown tired of Mahathir's 22-year rule. Mahathir dragged Malaysia towards developed nation status, oversaw the building of the iconic Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, and guided the country through the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Yet his long rule was also criticised for the growth of cronyism and its failure to help poor Malays. Abdullah seemed to have laid the ghost of Mahathir to rest in 2004 when the Barisan Nasional coalition, led by his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, scored its biggest election success on promises to end corruption. That success turned to dust in elections in March this year when the opposition stunned the government by depriving it of its customary two-thirds majority in parliament, which means it can no longer automatically change the country's constitution. Mahathir has since turned on Abdullah, sniping from the sidelines when the premier cancelled some of his massive infrastructure projects. He resigned from UMNO, swearing not to return until Abdullah was ousted. In a further twist to that feud, Mukhriz Mahathir is battling Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin for the leadership of UMNO's influential youth wing, a staging post to the party presidency and the premiership of the country. That political battle is a sign that dynasty politics will be around for a long time to come, worrying some Malaysians who feel the country is governed neither by them, nor for them. "The ones that keep coming back for more are the sons, daughters and grandchildren of yesteryear's leaders," said a comment posted on a political blog. "It is, to them, their birthright to be accorded such positions as their fathers and forefathers. If you are not born to 'the families', then you must marry into one!" |
