KUALA LUMPUR : The seeds of Barisan Nasional’s revival are being planted in Putrajaya — in several rooms at a resort hotel just minutes away from the gargantuan government complex.

Inside these rooms or labs as they are called, under the guidance of Datuk Idris Jala, teams consisting civil servants and consultants are discussing and debating solutions to some of Malaysia’s most vexing problems: national unity, public transportation, crime, education and how to achieve 1 Malaysia.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that the Najib administration is expected to get a boost when ideas and approaches are made public by December.

“Sensitive matters are all being discussed behind closed doors. Idris (picture) is pushing for a realistic and thorough process. Non-governmental organisations and other non-partisan individuals or groups will be invited to critique these ideas. I believe we will see some really good approaches to solving these difficult issues,” said an official familiar with the set-up.

These laboratories are a critical part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Key Performance Index and National Key Result Areas (NKRA) initiative.

All the NKRAs touch on areas which have been of concern to Malaysians for some years, especially public transportation and crime.

The inability of the Abdullah administration to address the law and order situation, questions on worsening race relations and the country’s sense of drift led to BN losing its two-thirds majority in Parliament in Election 2008.

Since then, the Opposition despite not having a common platform has consolidated its position.

To regain the initiative, Najib has announced a slew of moves, from liberalising the economy to promising help to marginalised communities to unveiling a Budget aimed at pushing Malaysia up the income ladder.

But the success or failure of his administration is likely to be judged by the substance of what Idris and gang produce on paper at the Palm Resort and how effectively it is implemented.

Already, there are plans to move the major bus terminus to Gombak from Puduraya, a move that will improve connectivity and free up the city centre from bus traffic. The bus interchange is likely to be completed by late 2012.

The administration has also promised a 20 per cent drop in crime.

Perhaps the most complicated issues to be tackled by Idris and his team will be those touching on national unity and 1 Malaysia because it involves rights of different races, freedom of worship.

Sources said that Idris appears to relish the challenge, burning the midnight oil and telling team members not to censor themselves in their search for good ideas and solutions. Idris was appointed a minister by Najib to help energise the KPI/NKRA programme that was making glacial progress under Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Khazanah Nasional.