M'SIAN PM'S INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP STYLE FURTHER RAISES M'SIAN CHINESE SUPPORT

By Alan Ting

KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 (Bernama) -- Since taking office as prime minister a
year ago, Najib Razak has made various direct approaches to win back the Chinese
support for the federal government.

Besides attending traditional events such as the Chinese New Year open
house, his "walkabout" approach of going directly to the people has found a lot
of favour.

Najib's style is seen to be more appealing to the Chinese community, where a
sizeable number had ditched Barisan Nasional (National Front -BN), in the last
general election in favour of the Opposition.

For example, Najib was the first prime minister to attend the assembly of
the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia or popularly known as Hua Zhong,
the influential and prestigious umbrella body for Chinese associations, guilds
and clans in the country.

"The prime minister's visits to Chinese independent schools, temples, Kuala
Lumpur's Chinatown in Petaling Street and officiating Hua Zhong's cultural
festival have portrayed him as a leader close to the Chinese community, close to
the people," said Hua Zhong president Pheng Yin Huah.

Pheng said Hua Zhong, whose members include some of the biggest movers and
shakers in the Chinese community, felt that Najib's 1Malaysia concept has wide
acceptance among the Chinese community and it had so far impressed the general
public.

"I strongly believe that as long as it (1Malaysia concept) is fully
implemented by all, it would bear 'big fruits' (for Malaysia)," he said.

In line with his 1Malaysia rallying cry and spirit, Najib also made another
unprecedented but heart-warming gesture when he arrived at Pandamaran, a former
Chinese new village, for the national Chinese New Year celebrations in February.

These actions are seen as "giving face" or according respect or
consideration to the Chinese community, and they augur very well because "giving
face" is regarded as a key tradition in the Chinese culture, and more
particularly so during an auspicious period such as the lunar new year.

"The Chinese community has a very positive image of Najib. Two factors have
contributed to this: first is that he appears to be pro-active on day-to-day
issues like health and transport. The Chinese like that very much," said
political analyst Prof James Chin.

Secondly, he said, a lot of Chinese people had completely lost confidence in
the BN Chinese-based parties but Najib has been seen as a saviour in reaching
out to them.

Chin said the only long-standing issue perceived by the Chinese community
that Najib needed to tackle vigorously is the New Economic Policy (NEP), which
is sometimes seen as a stumbling block in terms of fairer distribution of wealth
and opportunities.

But he said the initial response from the Chinese community for the New
Economic Model has been very positive.

"On the surface, they are quite happy as they are eagerly waiting for more
details," he said.

As Najib marks his first anniversary as prime minister today, many political
analysts believe that he will continue to be in touch with the people, including
the Chinese community; feeling their pulse, listening to their problems and
aspirations to drive home the point that he is an inclusive leader.

Najib is seen to be genuinely working almost tirelessly to accomplish a lot
of things for the rakyat.

But some analysts say that Najib still has to face the reality that there
has been a generational shift in the Chinese political thinking as the community
is more influenced by issues rather than loyalty to any particular party.

"The Chinese nowadays no more just interested in business. They are already
looking at things from a wider perspective, especially the younger and middle
age generation as their prime concerns are not only jobs and income but also
their children's education and future," said another political analyst.

This explains why some Chinese voters even voted for a party which had been
promoting its aspiration of an Islamic state in the last general election as
well several by-elections after that as they had adopted a different political
thinking from that of their parents, he said.

"They have more options and these make them more independent in their
political choices.

"Therefore, if BN wants to win big, it needs to win back Chinese support.
The Chinese are very, very much issues-based. If you can deliver on issues, they
will give you their support. If you don't, then they won't to give you the
vote," said another political analyst, Datuk Cheah See Kian.

Some believe that after a year under Najib's leadership where he introduced
some radical changes and transformation plans like the 1Malaysia concept,
National Key Result Areas (NKRA), Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and
New Economic Model (NEM), there is an urgent need for him to produce results.

"People are hungry for implementation and end results. He has to provide
quick results. Therefore, in his second year in office, he has to produce
results out of the various strategies he has introduced," said another political
analyst, Dr Sivamurugan Pandian.

Producing end results aside, there is also other similarly important
challenge that Najib has to address -- to put the house in order with regard to
BN component parties in order to face the next general election.

"He needs the (full) team, not only from UMNO (United Malays National
Organisation), but also all in BN. Najib has been seen as a popular leader as a
result of his approachable outlook," he said, adding that this had also been
reaffirmed by the latest survey by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research.

The survey showed that "Najib is in stronger position today than he was 12
months ago when he took office as proportion of Malaysians satisfied with his
performance stands at 68 percent, the highest ever."
-- BERNAMA