Najib moves to endear himself with Malays
It looks like the opposition parties now have their work cut out.
Events over the past few days suggest that Najib Razak will not go down without a fight, and his fight is one to watch.
Also, renewed pledges of loyalty to Umno and its president suggest that the Prime Minister will not be alone in this fight.
Considering how the Umno general assembly went and how the solidarity rally for the Rohingya played out, the opposition parties certainly have their work cut out for them.
The DAP bashing that dominated the Ummo assembly may have been distasteful to some but was described as a “brilliant move” by Institute for Democracy & Economic Affairs chief Wan Saiful Jan. He said the decision to thrash DAP gave Umno members a common enemy and would help nudge Malay voters towards supporting the party.
Meanwhile, Malays who are on the fence when it comes to the rivalry between former premier Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Razak are made to ponder on whether Mahathir’s alliance with DAP is the best thing for the Malays.
Then, as if a common enemy was not enough to get the Malays to rally behind Umno and Najib, the Prime Minister also showed he was willing to work with opposition members towards the common good of Muslims. The rally for the Rohingya saw Umno and PAS leaders standing side by side fighting for a cause that pulls at the heartstrings of many Muslims.
Images of Najib and PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang holding hands like old buddies quickly went public.
This notion that two strong Malay-based parties are joining hands as well as the news that Umno had been gracious enough to invite other parties, including Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Amanah and PKR, would be hard for Malays to ignore.
Also to be noted at the Rohingya rally was the firmness that Najib showed when he denounced the Myanmar government for allowing atrocities against the Rohingya to continue. This may give some Malays the impression that he is sincere in struggles involving Islam and Muslims.
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Of course, whether all this will be able to rally Malays behind Umno and Najib will only be revealed after the 14th general election results come out, but the odds are that if Najib continues doing what he’s doing, many Malays will soon forget the mistakes that he has been accused of making.