Najib appointed Selangor BN election chief

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will lead Barisan Nasional’s (BN) polls blitzkrieg in Selangor as its newly-appointed election director, state leaders decided yesterday, in a move that shows the pact’s determination to recapture the country’s richest and most industrialised state. Utusan Malaysia Online quoted Selangor BN coordinator Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed as confirming that the decision was made during a state BN meeting last night, where leaders strategised on the best formula to ensure Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is toppled in Selangor after Election 2013.

“The Prime Minister, who is also BN’s state chairman will lead the election machinery in Selangor and this shows his continuous efforts for the party, showing his confidence and his ‘hands on’ approach in Selangor,” he was quoted as saying. The Sepang MP also revealed that he would be helping Najib (picture) as his deputy elections director in terms of planning and mobilising the state’s election machinery.

BN lost the country’s wealthiest state and three others ― Perak, Kedah and Penang ― in a historic upset in Election 2008, when the federal opposition also captured 82 federal seats to deny the ruling coalition its customary two-third parliamentary majority.BN later took back Perak in an electoral putsch in February 2009 and has been working hard to unseat PR in Selangor.

In recent months, Najib, who is faced with the tough task of ensuring BN takes a comfortable majority in Election 2013, has been traversing the length and breadth of the country, spreading his pledges of reform and transformation as he urged Malaysians against changing the government.But observers believe the next electoral race may be neck-and-neck between BN and the fledgling PakatanRakyat (PR) pact, which has grown significantly in strength and numbers since its surprise victories in the last federal polls.

Much focus will be placed on Selangor, said to be the country’s engine of economic growth, where talk is that PR’s administration under first-term MentriBesar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim may not have performed well enough to sustain its 2008 support.PR currently has tenuous control over the country’s richest state and holds 36 seats in the 56-seat state assembly and 17 out of 22 parliamentary seats.

A swing of seven state seats towards BN in the next general election, which must be held by June, will allow the federal ruling pact to recapture Selangor with a simple majority.The 13th general election is expected by the second week of April, a month after Najib razak ends his “Janji Ditepati” (Promises Fulfilled) national tour and his BN completes its candidates list and manifestos, sources have said.The Malaysian Insider understands the prime minister’s last stop of the tour is in his Pekan parliamentary constituency on March 16, after which he is expected to meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and seek a dissolution of Parliament.

“The Election Commission (EC) normally sets polling day about three weeks after Parliament is dissolved, so we expect the earliest is mid-April,” a BN source told The Malaysian Insider.

There had been speculation that Parliament would be dissolved this week and a general election will be held by the end of March, more than five years after the last general election on March 8, 2008.The EC will set the polling date with a minimum 10-day campaign period and is expected to do so after Parliament and all state assemblies except Sarawak are dissolved. Sarawak had its state elections in 2011.The Malaysian Insider previously reported that the BNmanifesto will be ready by the end of this month while activists from the component parties have already started their ground work.

Boost for nation’s digital economy

NEW MEASURES: Time to ensure greater inclusiveness of Digital Malaysia’s stakeholders
PUTRAJAYA: MALAYSIA has mapped out six new initiatives to drive the Digital Malaysia Programme, which is tailored to increase the information and communications technology sector’s contribution to the country’s revenue.


Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said they would be anchored on the three key strategic thrusts of Digital Malaysia, dubbed as “game changers”.
This will move Malaysia from being supply to demand focused, shift behaviours from being consumption to production-centric and evolve the country into a high knowledge-added nation.
Encompassing an ecosystem that promotes the pervasive use of ICT in all aspects of the economy, the initiatives promise real-time interactions that will result in increased Gross National Income, enhanced productivity and improved standard of living.

Speaking at the 24th MSC Malaysia Implementation Council Meeting and 15th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel, Najib said while Malaysia was still a new and comparatively small entrant to the global digital economy, the country was confident of its formulated strategies that would help advance it with other developed nations.

The new initiatives would focus, among others, on tapping demand for digital products and services, and increasing citizen income and unlocking entrepreneurship potential for the bottom 40 per cent (B40) of the community.Najib, who chaired the meetings, said the country needed to create effective and efficient production and marketing channels for Malaysian companies to grow their domestic and global reach.
“I approve the ‘Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia 2′, and also a programme to attract two ICT Accelerators which will co-invest and speed up the development of local entrepreneurs, by offering advice, mentorship and practical training.”

He said with an estimated 2.4 million households living on an average monthly income of RM1,440, there was a strong need to enhance digital entrepreneurial skills of underprivileged communities, to help them develop new sources of income and improve their quality of life.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said in enhancing small and medium-enterprises’ productivity and competitiveness while increasing their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, five new programmes would be introduced to push them towards becoming regional and global players.
To facilitate this, Najib said the MSC Corp had been instructed to start a “breakout strategy” to make it easier for the estimated 77 per cent of the country’s micro SMEs to adopt IT.

Later, at a press conference, Najib said the meeting also discussed “Spectrum Allocation”, which he said could be a new way of disbursing allocations, by opening up more opportunities through partnerships with the private sector.
From the discussions yesterday, he said there were significant opportunities in the field of talent, entrepreneurship and commerce that could drive the economy of the future, if the right investments in people and technologies were made.
Najib said with plans already in place, the time had come to ensure greater inclusiveness of Digital Malaysia’s stakeholders.
“Government, industries and our community must now work together to harness opportunities that the digital economy has to offer.

“It is imperative that we lend our voices and take the necessary action to drive the actualisation of a digital economy, which can spur Malaysia’s transformation.”
Najib also said the Digital Malaysia Programme was reaching its target of increasing the country’s Gross National Income to 17 per cent, creating 160,000 high-value jobs.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak presenting the Malaysia Apicta 2012 Award to the founder of Adavista Sdn Bhd, Azli Paat (second from left), at the 15th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel meeting in Putrajaya yesterday. With them are Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (left), Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili (second from right) and IAP invitee Guo Jun Feng. Pic by Fariz Iswadi Ismail
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