Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Friday, 3^rd April 2009: 

Najib’s first task as sixth Prime Minister is to prove he is serious about “One Malaysian” concept by immediately halting UMNO’s divisive and destructive by-election tactics in Bukit Gantang falsely trying to label majority of voters in Perak as anti-Sultan for supporting Pakatan Rakyat

Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been sworn in as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, fulfilling the most famous political prophecy of RAHMAN on the first six Prime Ministers, although time will tell whether Najib will be the shortest-serving Prime Minister marking the end of the line of UMNO Prime Ministers in the country.

What is incontrovertible is that never before in the nation’s 53-year history has the ascension of a new Prime Minister in Malaysia been surrounded by so many questions, doubts and allegations raising serious questions about his suitability, credibility, integrity and legitimacy as in Najib’s case, not only among Malaysians transcending race, religion, political affiliation or region, but also internationally.

For the past month, Najib’s ascension as the new Prime Minister has been reported extensively in the international press and foreign countries, but there has not been one serious write-up which had not referred to the grave allegations hounding and haunting Najib, in particular the serious allegations about the C4 murder case of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shariibuu and the French submarine mega-defence commission.

These personal dilemmas of Najib have from today become national nightmares as they concern the honour of the highest political office of the land and that of the nation.

Is Najib just going to ignore these serious swirling doubts and allegations about his suitability, credibility, integrity and legitimacy as Prime Minister and soldier on regardless or is he finally going to end his denial and address these issues in a credible manner as by setting up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to put these doubts and allegations to rest, once and for all?

The timing of Najib’s takeover as Prime Minister could not have been worse, coming hours after Malaysia had been placed in the four-nation blacklist of non-cooperative tax havens by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) for breaching international tax standards – after Najib had taken over the finance ministry since last September.

With the country facing the worst global economic crisis in a century, Malaysia needs a Prime Minister who can rally and mobilise Malaysians as one people to tide through a grave recession looming in the months ahead.

This is why Najib must get rid of his heavy personal baggage quick and fast or all his tantalising talk of a RM470 billion package for these two years to deal with the economic crisis will fail to achieve their full impact and results.

Najib talks of a “One Malaysian” concept. His first task as sixth Prime Minister is to prove he is serious about “One Malaysian” concept by immediately halting UMNO’s divisive and destructive by-election tactics in Bukit Gantang falsely trying to label the majority of voters in Perak as anti-Sultan for supporting Pakatan Rakyat.

The Bukit Gantang by-election is not about whether the voters are loyal or disloyal to the Sultan of Perak.

UMNO leaders, members and campaigners are doing a great disservice to nation-building, the constitutional monarchy and Najib’s “One Malaysian” concept by trying to poison the minds of the voters into believing that a vote for Umno/Barisan Nasional candidate is a vote for the Sultan of Perak while a vote for Pas/Pakatan Rakyat candidate is a vote for a “traitor” against the Sultan.

How can the cause of Malaysian nation-building and Najib’s “One Malaysian” concept be advanced in falsely creating the perception that the majority of the people in Perak are against the constitutional monarchy just because they had voted in support of Pakatan Rakyat when the loyalty of Pakatan Rakyat and the Pakatan Rakyat voters to the constitutional monarchy whether in last year’s general election or the forthcoming April 7 Bukit Gantang by-election cannot be doubted?

Is Najib prepared to immediately halt such irresponsible, divisive and destructive by-election tactics in the Bukit Gantang by-election or is his “One Malaysian” concept just an empty and meaningless slogan?

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor