A torrid 100 days : Review by ANDREW SIA

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/8/9/lifebookshelf/4476457&sec=lifebookshelf

Sunday August 9, 2009. The Star

A blogger follows the PM’s first few months in office, while keeping an eye on where he’s headed.

THE first thing a reader is wont to ask, “Why does Oon Yeoh’s Najib’s First 100 Days, have No Honeymoon as its sub-heading?”

Yeoh, the editor of new (online) media at a business weekly, says: “No Honeymoon is a factual statement. It’s simply been a battle for the Prime Minister since Day One.

“There were various allegations against him, and the economic slowdown. Things weren’t going very well for BN (the Barisan Nasional) and it seemed like everything was against him.”

Oon Yeoh maintains that his book is a fair and neutral look at our Prime Minister’s first days in office. – BRIAN MOH / The Star

As an “objective” observer, Yeoh had initially thought that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak “would fare poorly”.

“But in February, he made me sit up with the speed, even ruthlessness, of the Perak takeover. This was in contrast to his reputation as a cautious fence-sitter. It was like he was telling Pakatan (Rakyat), ‘Don’t mess with me’.”

Najib came into office with a 41% (public) approval rating

“But he did quite well during his first 100 days and his ratings went up to 65%. This is no mean feat,” adds Yeoh, who has been writing mainly on IT, then politics, for 12 years.

He maintains that the book is a fair and neutral look at Najib’s 100 days, down to its cover picture

“Those who dislike him think the photo shows Najib picking a fight, (like) wanting to bash Pakatan. But those who like him feel it shows gritty determination. It’s like the Mona Lisa, which looks different to different people.”

The first part of the book contains Yeoh’s summary of and commentary on events, while the second has articles from 14 contributors.

He tried to pick a spectrum from different genders, races, age groups and political persuasions. The last ranges from blogger Rocky’s Bru (a Najib supporter) to former Star associate editor Kee Thuan Chye (who is not).

“Others were more middle-of- the-road. I chose people who had something to say; I didn’t want ranting demagogues or elected politicians. If readers look at my track record, and that of the contributors, they will see we have been critical but fair.”

What motivates Yeoh?

“Years ago I read a survey about elderly people who were asked what they could have done differently,” he recalls.

What struck me was that, first, they wished they had taken more risks. They also wished they had been more thoughtful in their actions. Finally, they wished they had a legacy to leave behind, something greater than themselves.

“For me as a writer, my small contribution is in my articles, podcasts, articles and books.”

Yeoh’s interest in politics was stoked by his late father, Yeoh Chiang Kee, a university lecturer in linguistics.

“My dad never joined any party but was always interested in politics as an observer. In the late 1990s, during the Anwar Ibrahim saga, he taught himself how to access the Internet just so he could read political news.”

Yeoh’s political awakening happened at the University of Texas in Austin, the United States, where he did his Economics degree in the early 1990s. “American college students are very politically aware and I had lots of conversations and debates with them about Republicans, Democrats and so on.”

He started his journalism career in 1997 with the Nikkei wire news service, and covered politics and economics.

Najib’s First 100 days is divided into eight chapters, and Yeoh posts comments in each one.

> Leadership: “Despite the economic and political turmoil, Najib has shown decisiveness,” he says.

> Managing BN: The author points out that Sabah has four important ministerial posts while Sarawak has two; when it comes to MPs, Sabah has 24 and Sarawak, 31.

“Perhaps this was because Sarawak politicians did not make as much noise as their Sabah counterparts about potentially leaving the BN,” he notes.

> Dealing with Pakatan Rakyat: In this chapter, Yeoh writes that Najib showed his political shrewdness in June when he seized the chance to rattle Pakatan Rakyat by welcoming Malay unity talks with PAS. However, the removal of the Perak State Assembly Speaker by force on May 7 was criticised by Suhakam and raised concerns about the impartiality of the civil service, the police and the judiciary.

> Economic Reforms: These are debatable, but measures like removing the 30% Bumiputra requirement for public listings have symbolic significance and “have taken guts”, Yeoh says.

> Race Relations: Najib has been saying the right things (such as 1Malaysia and merit-based scholarships), besides going on “surprise” walkabouts and attending harvest festivals in Sabah and Sarawak. However, having taken over from someone who did not fulfil his promises, he has “a difficult task of convincing people that he’s for real …”

> Foreign affairs: He has done a good job at mending fences with Singapore and made a symbolic trip to China.

> Civil Liberties: Yeoh notes that people taking part in peaceful protests, like wearing black T-shirts, have been arrested, especially in Perak. Even lawyers who went to assist those arrested were detained.

> Media Strategy: While Najib has his own “new media” presence via a blog, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter, he follows his two predecessors’ “old playbook” of controlling the mainstream media.

For instance, Yeoh writes, TV3, Ntv7, 8TV and TV9 were asked not to broadcasts certain issues related to Perak.

In summary, he says: “Najib has broken out of the box in the first six areas, but not where civil liberties and the media are concerned. He has played his cards correctly in all areas except Perak, which I believe will return to trouble him.”

Political observers commented that many urban voters of all races voted against BN in March 2008 partly due to exposure to “more” information online. Yeoh believes politics will be challenged even further by technology in the next general elections

> ‘Najib’s First 100 Days: No Honeymoon’ will be launched on Wednesday by Tunku Abdul Aziz, a former president of Transparency International Malaysia, at 8pm at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala Lumpur). For details, call 016-465 5107 or 016-379 7231 .