Handling crisis: PM should take leaf from Dr M
Published on: Saturday, January 24, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak must take a leaf out of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's book if he is to be decisive during a crisis, says former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.Local Chinese daily China Press quoted Daim in an exclusive interview as saying that former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir was the best person to learn from when it comes to handling crises.Daim referred to the recent floods and said he was not saying Najib had failed. But he should show leadership when it mattered most.
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According to the report, Daim said he recently met Najib over the subject."I said, in dealing with a crisis, you (Najib) need to be more efficient. Dr Mahathir has a good track record, you should learn from him," he was quoted as saying.He added that Najib's decision to return from Hawaii showed that Malaysians were still his priority.This followed widespread criticism levelled at the Prime Minister from various quarters for being absent while the country struggled with floods in several states.
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The Washington Post reported that Najib, who was on a private trip to Hawaii, was a surprise visitor at the Marine Corps base course in Kaneohe Bay, joining aides Joe Paulsen and Mike Brush in a round of golf with US President Barack Obama.Meanwhile, Daim told China Press that he believed Barisan Nasional (BN) had a chance to stay in power in the next general election.
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But, he added that anything can happen in politics."Who knows by the next election if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will still be around? Will BN fight the battle as one body, or continue to rely on Umno? Even if both parties (BN and PR) have decent strategies, who will lead them?" Daim was quoted as saying.He said PR may have been successful in garnering support but internal problems threatened the survival of the coalition.He added that looking at the current circumstance, PR's time is up and the 2013 results marked the end of the "opposition's experiment".Daim also said in the China Press interview that BN should not attempt to ignore, shoo off, or punish the Chinese community and urban voters who supported the opposition but should instead try to get closer to them."BN needs to understand, as victory comes, the position of a voter becomes increasingly significant – the same thing goes with their needs as well, especially urban voters," he said.Daim said that to overcome this challenge, BN could not deliberately ignore them."It seems whenever responding to Chinese voters and urban voters, BN can never pull themselves together. When addressing issues that concern the Chinese, BN loses its head out of fear.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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