Even if he did not end up as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak will always be remembered as one of the most innovative thinkers of the country. Every Ministry that he was charged with will always be changed forever.
Among the most notable is the education Ministry. When he was tasked to head this most important ministry he took the initiative to increase the salary of all those involved especially the teachers. The change was enormous and across the board. So complete was the change that young graduates rushed to take the chance and enrolled as teachers.
This book by one of Malaysia’s foremost journalist, Chamil Wariya, traced the rise of Najib Razak from the very moment he finished his studies.
It was said that Najib rose from the bottom or so said this book. However, one must remember that he [Najib] is the son of Razak Hussein who was once the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Of course, being born into such a distinguished family one cannot dismiss the fact that there is the aura of exclusiveness about him. No ordinary Malaysian can be that lucky. In Malaysian Society those whose members or kin happens to be appointed Cabinet Minister are often looked upon as the country’s nobility.
One important fact pointed out in this book is Najib’s ability to glue the support of the Malay Community when a revolt broke out against the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohammad in 1987 resulting in the split of UMNO into Team A and Team B. Team A of course consisted of those who supported Dr Mahathir and Team B were those who supported Musa Hitam, a former Deputy of Mahathir.
It was Najib’s sole belief that he must always be loyal to the leader. Thus, he sided with Dr Mahathir and Team B was trounced.
This is an interesting and revealing book even for those who are skeptical of the man.