Najib fails to master Chinese art of wooing
| March 13, 2013
The Chinese detest a leader who
pledges to give something only after one's candidate has won and the prime
minister has shown himself up as a less-than-brilliant strategist.
COMMENT
First, for delaying the 13th general
election when it should have been held last year; and second, for not giving
prompt recognition to the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) which has been
given due recognition by universities worldwide.
Najib’s political advisers have
shown themselves to be lacking in intelligent ideas concerning the second
point. Here is the reason why.
The prime minister had attended the
Dong Zong (Chinese educationists) Chinese New Year open house last month and
many Chinese were expecting him to make the all-important announcement giving
recognition to the UEC, but none was forthcoming. Word has it that the
announcement on the UEC would only be made after the 13th general election.
In contrast, Pakatan Rakyat’s
manifesto launched on Feb 25 had promised to give recognition to the UEC if
Pakatan becomes the federal government after the general election. This means
that Pakatan has stolen a march over Barisan Nasional and is now one step ahead
in this matter.
As it is, Najib has already lost
many Chinese votes due to the delayed general election and this UEC issue only
adds to his difficulty in trying to woo the Chinese.
Therefore in regard to the UEC, he
has missed a golden opportunity to gain the Chinese vote. He should have
capitalised on this issue during his visit to Dong Zong’s open house but as is typical
of him, he let the opportunity slip.
Failing to act fast was a big
blunder and shows him up as a less-than-brilliant strategist.
If Najib now makes an announcement
that the BN federal government will recognise the UEC, the Chinese will say
that he is only copying Pakatan’s idea.
The Chinese public will mock his
move by saying, “Other people say first and then only you follow, bunkum lah.”
In Chinese philosophy, you must be
daring to make the first move when promising something. That is the reason why
BN lost in the Sibu parliamentary by-election in May 2010 when Najib promised
funds to mitigate the flood woes if the Sibu folk were to vote for BN; this is
known as “kom kar geh” which means “very fake”.
The Chinese detest falsehood in the
art of wooing voters and this is exemplified in Sibu where Najib should have
given the funds for the flood mitigation project first, and then leave it to
the people to vote.
Do note that Najib’s infamous phrase
of “I help you, you help me” had its origins in the Sibu by-election.
It is still a form of vote-buying
and is still very bad but not as bad as the move of giving the funds only after
the BN candidate wins.
Chinese are smart
voters
Long accustomed to Chinese heroes
like Guan Yu, Zhong Fei and the heroes of the Water Margin (a famous classic of
common people rising against oppression), the Chinese voters are quite smart in
seeing through a person’s falsehood even if one attempts to conceal it.
A person who is false does not have
what can be labelled as “enough dare”. And that is the reason why many Chinese
are in favour of Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister; it is because they view Anwar
as “kow thum” (daring enough).
Giving something only after one’s
candidate has won is simply plain bunkum and the Chinese do not want this type
of leader. Moreover, delaying the battle too long is a sign of cowardice and
the Chinese also reject this type of leader.
For unwanted leaders, they must be
brave enough to face this fact – that they are no longer wanted and should do
the honourable thing by stepping down graciously.
Clinging on to power or grabbing
victory via dubious means is a trait much abhorred by the Chinese, and the same
goes for unethical and immoral leaders or leaders who bully the underdog. If
one has to face defeat, one should be able to face it courageously.
In ancient Chinese history, renowned
military commanders also have had their share of defeats and one should be able
to take defeat in a brave and honourable manner.
If BN wins the general election due
to the rakyat’s overwhelming support, then so be it. But if the win is tainted
with suspicion that it was due to the assistance of phantom voters and aliens,
then it is a hollow victory and the Chinese will say that BN has won due to
“kow kan” (play cheating).
Then the losers will be respected
while the winners will be mocked.
But what is worse is that the rakyat
will have to bear the consequences of being overwhelmed by too many low-skilled
or unskilled labourers who are now Malaysian citizens via dubious means –and
this is a very disastrous and terrible situation indeed.
Selena Tay is a DAP member and a FMT
columnist.
