Confidence motion in Parliament June 15 – another reason why Najib needs it
Lim Kit Siang
There is another reason why the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should seek a motion of confidence when Parliament reconvenes on June 15 to secure a clear-cut mandate to establish credibility, integrity and legitimacy of his premiership.
This is to secure parliamentary sanction for his “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan.
Najib said yesterday that the 1Malaysia concept does not deviate from the essence of the Federal Constitution, express or implied.
He said it is not a new concept or formula and that its ultimate objective is national unity, which was the primary vision of previous administrators translated into various forms over the last five decades.
But is Najib prepared to ascertain why his 1Malaysia concept had generated so much division and discord among Malaysians, which was not the case with, for instance, the Bangsa Malaysia concept introduced by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad when proclaiming the Vision 2020 in 1991?
In fact, the very need for Najib to come up with a 1Malaysia slogan is eloquent testimony of the failure of Malaysian nation-building efforts in the past five decades to create one united Malaysian nation.
What is tragic is that Najib’s first two months as Prime Minister had been overwhelmed by examples of the lack of 1Malaysia mentality, mindset and commitment not only by the Barisan Nasional government but also by the key national institutions in our society, whether the civil service, Parliament, judiciary, police, mass media, etc.
