Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 10^th January 2011: 

First 1Malaysia test of Najib’s Political Transformation Programme – get all BN parties to speak with one voice on 1Malaysia with Utusan Malaysia stop being the biggest enemy of the 1Malaysia concept with its daily staple of lies and falsehoods to stoke communal hatred and national division

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak spoke of his new “transformation” programme after his meeting with Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament on Saturday – political transformation.

Since becoming Prime Minister 18 months ago, Najib has been drumming the “transformation” mantra, with a plethora of alphabet soup like Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and now a Political Transformation Programme to gird his signature concept of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now.”

But sadly, the country had never been more divided in the nation’s 53-year history than in the 18 months of Najib’s premiership, highlighting the hollowness and hypocrisy of his 1Malaysia concept, precisely because the loudest voice against Najib’s all-inclusive 1Malaysia concept had come from none other than UMNO’s official organ, Utusan Malaysia, which had been churning out a daily staple of lies and falsehoods to stoke communal hatred and national division.

It is most shocking and outrageous that in the past 18 months, there had been no serious effort to ensure that Utusan Malaysia, as the Umno’s official organ, should spearhead the 1Malaysia concept instead of being its biggest enemy and detractor with the daily diet of lies and falsehoods poisoning inter-racial and inter-religious relations and fanning national divisions in the country.

Why have the Ministers for instance, not only from Umno, but also from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sarawak and Sabah component parties, failed to raise in the Cabinet the gravest challenge and threat to Najib’s 1Malaysia - Utusan Malaysia’s daily lies and falsehoods to stoke communal hatred and illwill and undermine national division?

Apart from the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, is there not a second Cabinet Minister who dare to publicly declare his or her full commitment to the 1Malaysia objective and being a Malaysian first and race, religion, geography and socio-economic grouping second?

Or are all the other Cabinet Ministers in support of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s declaration of being Malay first and Malaysian second – rejecting the 1Malaysia rationale where every Malaysian regards himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geography and grouping second?

The first test of Najib’s “Political Transformation Programme” is to get all Barisan Nasional leaders and parties to speak with one voice on 1Malaysia with Utusan Malaysia stop being the biggest enemy of the 1Malaysia concept with its daily staple of lies and falsehoods to stoke communal hatred and national division.

Can Najib’s political transformation programme pass this first 1Malaysia test?

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