A popular Malaysian prophecy holds that the ruling United Malays National Organisation(UMNO) will meet its downfall after the country's sixth prime minister.
It is known as the Rahman prophecy, after Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister, whose second name is said to spell out the first initial of his five successors. To the superstitious, it has proved uncannily accurate in predicting the nation's leaders since independence from Britain in 1957. That may be a cause of concern to Najib Razak, who was sworn in as Malaysia's sixth prime minister about 4 months ago.The unpopularity of the man and his party have led many analysts to predict that his government could be defeated in the next elections, due by 2013.
Even before taking office, PM Najib has had unusually low approval ratings, with only 41 per cent of Malaysians saying he would make a good prime minister, against 47 per cent for Abdullah Badawi, his ineffectual predecessor, according to Merdeka Centre, an independent pollster.Some of that antipathy can be attributed to vicious rumours circulating about Mr Najib. Some critics link his name to the murder of a Mongolian model and mistress of one of his closest advisers, who has since been cleared of any involvement in the killing. Weapons contracts awarded during his tenure as defence minister have been questioned for alleged corruption. The allegations have dominated campaigning for a by-election seen as a referendum on his administration."There are so many accusations and allegations. God willing, I can manage it. They are not true; they are malicious, slanderous, baseless lies," said PM Najib after immediately after he was elected as the President of UMNO.Malaysia's ethnic Chinese, Indian minorities, Orang Asli (aborigines of Peninsular) and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, have more substantial doubts about PM Najib. He has been a staunch defender of giving preferential treatment to the ethnic Malay majority in government and business, a policy introduced by his father when he was prime minister in the early 1970s.The discontent among minorities has led them to back a resurgent opposition, led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or DSAI as he is well known by his supporters.It fears that Mr Najib will preside over a return to "Mahathirism", the tough and confrontational style conducted by his mentor, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, the long-serving prime minister in the 1980s and 1990s.PM Najib has sought to assume the mantle of reform by promising to clean up Umno, which is seen as corrupt and out of touch with the public. He is also trying to reassure the country's minorities that he will change the pro-Malay policy to benefit other races. That reflects the influence of his brother, Nazir Razak, the head of state-owned CIMB, Malaysia's second largest bank, who said the proMalay policy discouraged foreign investment and created resentment among minorities."Nazir is a well-respected figure and is likely to play a pivotal role in advising on economic policy," says one of the well known , equity research head at one of the biggest bank in Malaysia.Ultimately, however, it could be Malaysia's worst postwar recession that topples PM Najib, says the opposition. "The economy is Najib's Achilles heel. Young Malays are drifting away from racial politics. The economic crisis will reveal that the income gap between rich and poor among all races is the real issue - and that will undermine Najib," said an adviser to Mr Anwar.One of the issue that can undermine the current peaceful situation in Malaysia is a racial tension. To mitigate the racial issue, PM Najib has intriduced the 1Malaysia concept. But with the pressure from the Malay and Muslim, many predicted that Najib 1Malaysia is just a slogan and is going towards DOOM.
Najib Months in Office is numbered....The Prophecy
Since March 2008 General Election, Barisan Nasional so far has not winning any by-election [to exclude Batang Ai because of Iban Chawat (loin cloth) mentality]. The on-going by-election in Permatang Pasir which will be held on 25th August 2009, a straight fight between UMNO and PAS, many predicted that UMNO will lose with bigger margin. And if the prediction is correct....the Rahman prophecy is about to happen and Najib months in office is numbered.... Mupok aku"Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban"
