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Why does Dato' Seri Najib seek to desert his Pekan parliamentary constituency?

THE MENTRI BESAR OF PAHANG, Dato' Seri Adnan Yaakob, said the National Front (BN) list is ready but for three parliamentary constituencies - Bentong, Indera Mahkota, Pekan (The Star, 28 February 2004, p12). Pekan? The seat of the Dato' Shahbander of Pahang, which two successive holders of the post, Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak, and his son, the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib, they had held for UMNO since 1955? The constituency was far larger in 1955 than it is today, but its crown jewel is within the present boundaries. Dato' Seri Adnan did not say why. How did a solid albeit feudal UMNO stronghold be now a marginal constituency? In 1999, the deputy prime minister, as he was not then, squeaked in by 241 votes, and this after the 2,400 postal votes were counted. The feudal spell and Razak mystique could no longer sustain his son's political future. When the constituencies were redrawn since, an army and an airforce camp from the adjoining Mentakab and Kuantan constituencies, with 4,000 voters were brought within the new Pekan electoral boundary. On the face of it, Dato' Seri Najib should easily romp home. The reality is far, far different.

The UMNO mystique in the Malay heartland is under attack. Pekan, for all its closeness to the state capital of Kuantan and the superficial modernity that marks for progress in present day Malaysia, is in the thick of it. It is a constituency which must be nurtured. His father assiduously did in his years in office. He was deputy prime minister in his thirties, and died at 53, the age when his son became deputy prime minister. Dato' Seri Najib, in many ways a more consummate politician than his father, however, ignored his ground, and allowed the opposition to build a base within it. Not all of it is his own fault, but he must bear a large share of the blame. The urbane sophistication that makes him a welcome guest at No. 10 Downing Street or the White House is seen amongst his constituents as plain old-fashioned arrogance, and this in a society which lays great store on civilised behaviour. The Opposition Party Islam Malaysia (PAS) has made impressive inroads into the state: UMNO is frustrated that many of its older members and leaders left it, especially after the 1998 sacking of the then deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, for PAS and the National Justice Party (KeADILan). The ground was slipping from under him. He did not act quickly to stop the rot.

As the 2004 general election approached, he is beset with more electoral difficulties. PAS has made strong inroads into Pekan, has three candidates ready, any one of whom could cause an electoral upset. Into the fore comes the KeADILan youth chief, Mr Ezam Mohamad Nor. He wants to stand against Dato' Seri Najib in Pekan. He is allowed to since the Election Commission has decided that since his conviction and jail sentence for an offence under the Official Secrets Act will bar him for contesting an election only after all appeals are disposed off. PAS has no objection. But Dato' Seri Najib has other difficulties too. The political rivalry between the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Dato' Seri Najib, for all the apparent cordial warmth in public, is now reflected, so Dato' Seri Najib's supporters claim, in a not-so-subtle campaign to unseat him.

On the face of it, this is not far-fetched. How he was appointed deputy prime minister still rankles in the Pak Lah camp. Now a serious practical problem throws the loyalty of the 4,000 voters in doubt. Recently, the air force asked the Treasury to revise the flying allowance of its pilots, now fixed at RM1,500 a month. It wanted this varied for the different aircraft their pilots fly. The Treasury decided on a fixed rate of RM3,500, insisting that since the pilots had only the SPM, the Malaysian school leaving certificate, they deserved no more. If Dato' Seri Najib does not resolve this soon, he could well be the first deputy prime minister to be defeated in a parliamentary election in Malaysia. In other words, a marginal shift in the political winds could force him to step down as deputy prime minister and defence minister. It was a similar problem with the armed forces that the then finance minister, Dato' Mustapha Mohamed, was defeated in Jeli, Kelantan in 1999: the army camp there voted solidly against him.

So where could he contest? This is where it turns murky. The BN selection committee, of which he is a member with the BN secretary-general, Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob, and Pak Lah's son-in-law, Mr Ahmad Khairy bin Jamaluddin, decided he should contest the new Cameron Highlands constituency. But the People's Progressive Party (PPP) leader, Dato' M. Kayveas, worked hard to be given it, setting up an enviable organisation there. It is a safe seat. The Opposition does not have an organisation there, and any BN candidate would be returned with a handsome majority. At the BN meeting to iron out the seats, Pak Lah asked why Dato' Kayveas is not given Cameron Highlands. Tan Sri Khalil said the PPP leader could not be given the constituency since that he would lose. The meeting became acrimonious, and Dato' Kayveas threatened to pull the PPP out of BN. The Perak mentri besar, Dato' Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali, stepped in and offered the PPP the UMNO-held Bukit Gantang constituency, a 70 per cent Malay majority area with less than five per cent Indians.

The PPP is unhappy about it. The Bukit Gantang UMNO is angry. It this is not carefully handled, another UMNO stronghold could fall to PAS. It is difficult to see how he could get another seat since the allocations are all but over unless he stands in Cameron Highlands and Dato' Seri Najib in Pekan. The PPP, let us not forget, has a new lease of life under Dato' Kayveas, is the most resurgent of the BN parties, adding members and groups so assiduously that with his Indian base, he is adding others, including from Sarawak and Sabah. Dato' Seri Tajol Rosli offered him Bukit Gantang for fear that should the PPP leave the BN, it could set up roots in his state. After all, the PPP began life as the Perak Progressive Party under the redoubtable Seenivasagam brothers. It had declined since but this rejuvenation could well give it another chance in the state. UMNO leaders in Perak do not want to contemplate it. The underlying tensions may be too much to disallow Dato' Kayveas in Bukit Gantang, but he must be given one that he has a reasonable chance of being returned. Dato' Seri Najib is more trouble than he realises.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@streamyx.com