Let's not get too negative. Let's give him a chance, just like everyone gave PM Abdullah Badawi a chance to settle down and try to raise the country.
No, it is not because I got an email from a mass-mailing list at the PM Office, but when a country gets a new leader, there is always that chance that things will be better. He has already announced tonight three major things - see here.
Tunggu dulu lah, kasi Pak Naj ni chance sikit.
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Reme Ahmad gets an e-mail from Najib Razak. No, seriously!
I RECEIVED an email from the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, yesterday evening (which means he was still PM-designate then). I am not kidding.
In my Inbox was this:
"From - Najib Razak. Topic - 1Malaysia update".
When I opened the mail, it said:
"On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 6:48 PM, Najib Razak wrote:"
In the email, the PM-designate wrote to, ahem, me that although a lot of attention had been focused on the Umno annual general assembly, he has been busy because he is now the party's president.
The mail gets personal, by taking on a conversational "I am your buddy" tone - ie far and away from the usual "I am a politician, you people listen to me".
Look at this sentence: "The next few days will be no less busy for me, but I will share with you some exclusive content of coming events..."
Of course, it was no surprise that when I clicked the Reply button, the email address was press@1Malaysia.com.my.
1Malaysia.com.my is of course the website and blog of Mr Najib that he started some months ago. He can be expected to be active on this - speaking through his aides of course.
Well, I guess it's about time.
The government has learnt from last year's general elections when the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and Umno were thrashed because they failed to engage Netizens and the phletora of accusations in cyberspace.
I guess the new PM's people now realise that half the public relations battle, and the fight for the hearts of minds of Malaysians and the wired-up international community, is on the Internet.
Mr Najib had better get active real fast. Top opposition leaders Lim Kit Siang and Anwar Ibrahim have popular blogs that question almost every government move.
They have been joined by dozens of other opposition politicians.
There are the very popular blogs by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, of course - the duo that’s been busily attacking the government (of former PM Abdullah Badawi).
And the role played by opposition news website Harakahdaily.net (Harakah the newspaper is the organ of Parti Islam SeMalaysia). It is in Bahasa Malaysia and popular among pro-PAS netizens.
Then there are the major pro-opposition online newspapers like Malaysiakini and Siasahdaily (also in Bahasa). There is also the blog portal Malaysia Today organised by Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a wildly popular 'anti-government' figure.
The government has two websites seen to be alilgned to it - The Malaysian Insider and Agendadaily (in Bahasa).
But the rest of Malaysian so-po (social-political) blogs and websites seem to be full of writers who have, at minimum, a cynical view of all things government, and at worst, think the government is an uncontrollable lying rapist of public funds.
So it's about time that the new PM, filled with new energy and new officers, answers all the cynicism and the critics out there.
I include below the contents of the, ahem, personal mail from PM Najib to this lowly scribe:
On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 6:48 PM, Najib Razak wrote:
Dear Friends,
As you know the country for the past week had been largely focused on the UMNO General Assembly and the outcome of the party elections. The next few days will be no less busy for me, but I will share with you some exclusive content of coming events, only on www.1Malaysia.com.my. Be sure to check in regularly to view them!
Thank you for your continuous support for 1Malaysia.
Najib
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Change was a running theme at the UMNO General Assembly, as I officially accepted the President post from YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi and was entrusted by the delegates with the new Supreme Council. This I hope will lead to greater and more positive transformations.
Read the speeches and watch the videos »
SOME WEBSITE DEVELOPMENTS
While I have been immersed in the UMNO General Assembly, I am also bringing in some fresh perspective to this website by introducing a new logo.
Posts
1 comments:
Some kind soul in NST made me a newsmaker. I didnt even know about it until my neighbour told me. Thank you kindly:
NST 4/4/2009.
Surprise email for blog visitors
KUALA LUMPUR: Those who registered with Datuk Seri Najib Razak's blog received a pleasant surprise on Thursday from Malaysia's sixth prime minister in the form of emails alerting them to keep tab of latest developments in his blog.
Among those who received such emails were reporters from various media organisations, including those across the causeway.
One of them was Reme Ahmad, who works with The Straits Times in Singapore.
He had written about Najib's email in his blog and was quite excited about sharing his experience.
Reme wrote that it was time Malaysia's top leaders, such as Najib, used the Internet to get closer to the people as several opposition leaders had done.
The new prime minister promised to share exclusive content of upcoming events with those who visited his blog at www.1Malaysia.com.my.
"Be sure to check in regularly to view them," he wrote.
In his blog, Najib posted pictures, videos, as well as speeches and also introduced a new logo which he would unveil soon.
He said his children also gave their input on the logo.
Najib wrote: "While the current logo aesthetically does represent Malaysian unity, I feel that it should be more reflective of the transformation that I intend to bring about to Malaysia with your support."
He added that he wanted the logo to be easily identifiable and could be related to by Malaysians from all walks of life.
Najib said the logo must also represent the diverse yet united Malaysia that the nation aspired to achieve.
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