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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak marked his 100 days in office by rolling out a slew of incentives which analysts said on Sunday were aimed at wooing back voters.
Najib has tried to revive the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition's popularity since taking power in April, after the opposition alliance enjoyed unprecedented poll success last year by seizing control of a third of the seats in parliament.
On Saturday, he announced several measures at a gathering attended by thousands of people to celebrate his 100 days in office, including a cut in road toll charges for frequent users and better facilities in rural areas.
"I am aware that Malaysians are feeling the impact of the economic downturn and my administration is committed to ease your burden," he said.
"The measures that I announced in these 100 days are just the first steps towards a prosperous and better future," the premier added.
Najib's leadership was given a boost after a poll released earlier this week found his popularity ratings surged to 65 per cent from just 46 per cent in May, thanks to his economic reforms and an olive branch extended to minorities.
He has been partly dismantling a decades-old system of positive discrimination for Malays, who enjoyed benefits in education, housing and jobs, which had previously been seen as a political taboo.
Political analyst James Chin said the announcements were targeted at winning back voters that had deserted the government amid speculation that there may be early elections next year, not officially due until 2013.
"All these announcements are people-friendly measures," said Chin, of Monash University in Kuala Lumpur.
"He is trying to win back votes as the earliest snap election is possible in late 2010, but I seriously doubt people are going to take the bait," he added.
Najib has also failed to impress former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who said there were "more negatives rather than positives" in his first 100 days, the influential Malaysiakini news website reported.
The son and nephew of two former prime ministers, Najib came to office with heavy political baggage.
- AFP/so
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