Was Najib more of a reformist than Anwar, PSM wonders

Was Najib more of a reformist than Anwar, PSM wonders

RK Anand
Published: Oct 24, 2024 7:31 PM


Using Najib Abdul Razak as a benchmark is embarrassing, conceded PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan.

However, he believes Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim needs to be reminded of his past pledges which made it possible for him to re-enter the administrative capital after he was shown the exit more than two decades ago.

“Imagine having to resort to someone responsible for the biggest financial scandal to drive home the point. This is most unfortunate” he told Malaysiakini.

The latest addition to Arutchelvan’s “growing list of disappointments” is the government “not being in a rush” to separate the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor.

When Anwar was sworn in, Arutchelvan said there was much anticipation and hope invested in the first “truly reformist” prime minister albeit as the head of a government which included Umno.

“But each passing day makes us more anxious. Will the 1998 Anwar ever appear or do we accept that it is the pre-1998 Anwar who has reappeared?” he asked.

“Well, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when he became the prime minister again with the help of Pakatan Harapan, did tell us that the manifesto is not the Bible,” he recalled.


When Najib was PM

Turning the clock back to when Najib was the prime minister from 2009 to 2018, Arutchelvan noted how he appeared, whether genuine or otherwise, to be more of a reformist compared to Anwar.

“Najib introduced the minimum wage law. He was the first prime minister to give aid based on a class perception and not race, which is Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia, and his detractors have continued this under different names.

“He abolished emergency proclamations, dismantled the much-feared Internal Security Act, brought about the Peaceful Assembly Act and even talked about repealing the Sedition Act.

“Najib also declared that he was ‘Malaysian first and Malay second’. I doubt Anwar would do the same,” he added.

On the same note, Arutchelvan said the fact that BN was denied its two-thirds majority in the 2008 national polls had forced Najib into adopting a reformist approach.

The PSM leader said after coming under intense pressure from the Umno hawks in the aftermath of the 2013 general election, Najib was forced to backpedal and became more iron-fisted after the 1MDB scandal erupted.

“The people were glad to get rid of Najib and BN.

“We now have the 10th prime minister, the one who was supposed to deliver us from darkness into a new dawn. But we are still waiting for the sun to rise.

“Sosma, Sedition Act, selective prosecutions, inaction on cases, separation of power, allegations of abuse of power and all the grouses from the ‘dark ages’ still remain,” he added.

The “pinnacle of disappointment”, according to Arutchelvan, would be if the “House Arrest Bill” allowed the “reformist” Najib to walk free from prison under the watch of the “reformist” Anwar.

In his Budget 2025 speech, the prime minister said the government would draft a new law allowing house arrest as an alternative sentence for certain offences, which led to speculation that it is related to Najib, who is serving a six-year prison sentence.