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1Malaysia (pronounced One Malaysia in English and Satu Malaysia in Malay) was a political slogan coined by Malaysian former Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009, with the stated goal of promoting ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance.[1] However, it quickly became embroiled in controversy.
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After the 2018 Malaysian general election, in which the long-time Barisan Nasional's government collapsed with its defeat and Pakatan Harapan's ascendant as the new ruling government, along with Najib's ousting, the concept was abolished and replaced with Sayangi Malaysiaku, a concept that was created by Mahathir Mohamad, together with other major changes made by his government during his premiership.
1Malaysia is a concept introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak to promote national unity. According to Razak, the eight values of the concept are high performance, culture, accuracy, knowledge, innovation, integrity, strong will, loyalty, and wisdom.[2][3]
Logo and slogan
An official logo and slogan have been introduced along with the launch of the 1Malaysia concept. The logo is the symbol of '1' which incorporates the national Jalur Gemilang flag and the word Malaysia. The government spent RM38 million (equivalent to $8 million) to promote the 1Malaysia concept in 2010, according to the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.[4]
Slogan
| Year | Theme |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan (People First, Performance Now) |
| 2010 | Menjana Transformasi (Generating Transformation) |
| 2011 | Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejahtera (Transformation Successful, People Prosperous) |
| 2012 | Janji Ditepati (Promises Fulfilled) |
| 2013 | Rakyat Didahulukan (People Come First) |
| 2015 | Sehati Sejiwa (One Heart, One Soul) |
Introduction of KPIs
The use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), metrics, and targets more typically used in private business, and National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) was used as an attempt to improve government efficiency. The KPIs provide a mechanism for the evaluation of ministries and other government agencies, including performance reviews, carried out every six months. Each ministry has been required to establish specific KPIs, including that focus on policy outcomes over the traditional emphasis on inputs typically found in government performance assessments and planning. KPIs include detailed job descriptions and goals for ministers, deputy ministers, and some other senior government officials.[5]
The National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) are six major policy areas in which KPIs will play an especially important role in improving the effectiveness of the government. The NKRAs include crime prevention, reducing government corruption, increased access to quality education, improvements in the standard of living for low-income groups, upgrades to rural infrastructure, and improvements in public transportation.[6]
A new cabinet position was also introduced to support the Unity and Performance Minister in implementing the KPI system. Idris Jala, the former CEO of Malaysia Airlines, was appointed Minister Without a Portfolio and CEO of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), to work with Koh Tsu Koon in training over 500 government officers to implement the KPI system. As CEO of PEMANDU, Idris will support the work of Koh, who is the minister in charge of National Unity and Performance Management.[7]
1Malaysia clinics
In the 2010 budget, funding was provided to 50 medical clinics to provide basic medical services for illnesses and injuries such as fever, cough, colds, wounds and cuts, diabetes, and hypertension. Malaysian citizens were charged only RM1 (US$0.22) for treatment and medication,[8] meanwhile, non-citizens were charged RM15.[9] The clinics have since been renamed Community Clinics.
1Malaysia Community WiFi
Free Wi-Fi services were also given to rural areas as part of the 1Malaysia campaign, which was known as Kampung Tanpa Wayar (Villages without Connections in English).[10][11][12] The Wi-Fi services have since been renamed as WiFi Komuniti (WK, Community WiFi in English).
1Malaysia email
A RM50 million (US$11 million) contract was approved for a company called Tricubes Bhd. to run the 1Malaysia email project as part of the government's social networking project, in which free email accounts would be given to the public to communicate with the government.[13][14] The "1Malaysia" email project was announced in April 2011 as part of the Economic Transformation Program (ETP), with Najib claiming that it would have a gross national income (GNI) impact of RM39 million (US$14.4 million) by 2015.[15][16] However, statements made by the company and politicians at the time were contradictory about whether the project was a private or government initiative, with PEMANDU claiming that "not a single cent of public money is or will be spent" on the project.[17]
1Malaysia Development Berhad
A government-owned firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad was formed through the renaming of a sovereign wealth fund called Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA). This firm would later be involved in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. It also resulted in the arrest and prosecution of Najib Razak.
Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (1Malaysia People's Grocery Stores)
In 2011, a convenience store chain going by the name of Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) was introduced, with the first store being located at the Kelana Jaya Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) station in Kuala Lumpur. The franchise was aimed at allowing the low-income group to obtain groceries for a cheap price.[18] However, the stores were criticized for pricing their goods higher than market value,[19] and the poor quality of the items sold within the locations. It closed all of its stores in 2017.
1Malaysia Foundation
The 1Malaysia Foundation (Y1M) was established in 2009 to promote and develop the idea of 1Malaysia. Y1M works to coordinate and supply government and private-sector activities related to 1Malaysia. Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, the chairman of the Y1M Board of Trustees, said, "Y1M is planning to expand and strengthen the commitment from all Malaysians towards national unity through various activities to increase public awareness and community development."[20]
1Malaysia Youth Fund
The 1Malaysia Youth Fund was launched to provide financial support for young people to undertake creative projects that nurture national unity. RM20 million (US$4.4 million) was allocated to the fund under Malaysia's new budget, passed in 2010. The fund was proposed by the Barisan Nasional Youth Lab.[21]
Negaraku Malaysia
In conjunction with the 60th National Day celebration in 2017, the 'Negaraku' initiative was launched.[22] It was used alongside the 1Malaysia concept, which also became the Negaraku 1Malaysia concept and logo.[23] The word 'Negaraku' was also used in greetings by the politicians from the coalition on official occasions such as the National Day parade. After Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 Malaysian general election, both the initiative and the concept were abolished.[24]
Interpretation
A year after the concept's introduction, the 4th and 7th Prime Minister and previous mentor to Najib, Mahathir Mohamad reportedly said that he "still doesn't understand" the concept.[25] Almost two years later, the public similarly, based on an opinion poll in July 2010, was wary of the concept. In particular, the non-Malays surveyed, according to The Malaysian Insider, "were almost split" on the Najib administration's national unity agenda with 46% of the respondents believing that the 1Malaysia concept is only a political agenda to win the non-Malay votes, and only 39% of the non-Malays believed that the concept introduced by Najib after he took over the government was a sincere effort to unite all races in Malaysia.[26]
Criticism of poor public services
The 1Malaysia clinics were criticized for their services, especially for their lack of equipment, poor quality medications, unqualified clinic workers, and lack of civil manners by its nurse staff towards patients.[27][28][29][30]
The 1Malaysia Village Without Connections program (Kampung Tanpa Wayar) was met with a lot of criticism from the rural community, with many of them labeling the project as "failed" due to its frequent malfunctions and slow Wi-Fi services.[31][32][33]
The 1Malaysia email has been criticized by the public and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat on the massive amount of money that was spent, and that Tricubes used to be in financial difficulty. After the public outcry, Najib had to backtrack stating that this was a private sector initiative and that acceptance of the email accounts was voluntary.[34][35][36] Protests have been organized against the project on Facebook and parodied on a website.[37][38]
The 1Malaysia Development Berhad company has been saddled with controversies such as the purchase of overpriced land from Tadmax Resources, a company linked to the Port Klang Free Zone scandal,[39][40] and was involved in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.
Complaints have been received that the groceries sold at KR1M were more expensive compared to those sold by other supermarkets.[41][42] There have been allegations of poor product quality in its products, namely children's milk formula, fresh milk, condensed milk, sweetened condensed creamer, oyster sauce, fruit jam, and many others.[43][44][45] KR1M has responded to the criticism by testing the products through periodical laboratory testing.[46]
Criticism of undermining Malay rights
Najib's efforts to liberalize government policies and create a more open policy towards all races with 1Malaysia led the Malay rights group Perkasa to seek further clarification on the policy, as they feared that 1Malaysia would undermine Malay or Bumiputera rights in favor of minorities in Malaysia.[47]
Anwar Ibrahim's suspension from parliament
On 22 April 2010, Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's opposition, was condemned by the Parliament of Malaysia for remarks he made during a press conference in parliament on 30 March 2010. Anwar had claimed to have documents linking One Israel, and the public relations firm APCO Worldwide (APCO) to 1Malaysia, but refused to allow access to the documents when challenged.[48] As it is against Malaysia's foreign policy to have any dealings with Israel, the appointment of APCO has garnered a massive amount of criticism from the majority Muslim population, demanding Najib to terminate the contract with the company. The Malaysian government and APCO have strongly denied Anwar's allegations. The censure motion passed by the House of Representatives referred Anwar's case to the Rights and Privileges Committee which will recommend punishment for approval by the full chamber. Such punishment could include being exiled from Parliament.[49][50][51] Anwar has retaliated by producing two documents to back up his statements and refute the government's denials.[50][51] It was announced that Anwar was to be suspended from Parliament by the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee based solely by the content of a letter by APCO, with Anwar not being able to defend against the allegations made against him.[52][53][54] This also prompted a walkout by opposition MPs.[55][56] On 16 December 2010, Anwar and three opposition MPs, Karpal Singh, Azmin Ali, and Sivarasa Rasiah were suspended from Parliament.[57][58] Anwar has blamed APCO Worldwide for his and his fellow opposition parliamentarian's suspensions.[58]
1MDB scandal and downfall
Since the revelation of the 1MDB scandal in 2015, the slogan 1Malaysia had adopted a negative undertone towards Najib's administration. It involved allegations of massive embezzlement and corruption, with billions of dollars missing from a state investment fund. The scandal led to investigations in multiple countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and Singapore. The 1MDB scandal had a profound impact on Malaysia's political and economic landscape. It eroded public trust in the government and became a focal point of political opposition.
After the defeat of the Barisan Nasional in the 2018 general election, the 1Malaysia slogan and the "Salam 1Malaysia" greeting was slowly phased out by the new administration.[59] It was later succeeded by Sayangi Malaysiaku, created by Mahathir Mohamad, who succeeded Najib after winning the 2018 Malaysian general election.
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