By Lim Kit Siang, MP for Gelang Patah

Instead of dissociating or at least distancing itself from Prime Minister Najib Razak’s latest “You help me, I help you” variation first infamously used in the Sibu parliamentary by-election in May 2010 in the MCA annual general assembly yesterday, the MCA President Liow Tiong Lai has accused online news portals of “twisting” Najib’s speech to give it a negative image of the government.

It would appear that MCA leaders have a totally different grasp and comprehension of ordinary language when they are made by top UMNO leaders – where arm-twisting language could be understood as friendly advice.

What Najib said at the MCA’s 61st annual general assembly is straightforward and crystal clear – that the Chinese could not make demands from the government and then support Pakatan Rakyat.

Najib had said: “You can’t demand and then support DAP. You can’t demand and then support PR. You demand, you support BN, we will be fair to the Chinese community.”

Najib’s implicit message is obvious – that the Chinese community cannot expect the government to be fair if they do not support the BN.

What Najib said yesterday was offensive and obnoxious as it runs afoul of Najib’s four fundamental objectives: to be Prime Minister of all Malaysians; his 1Malaysia Policy where everyone is a Malaysian first and race, religion, region or socio-economic status second; his Global Movement of Moderates initiative and his pledge to make Malaysia the world’s best democracy.

Firstly, how can Najib claim to be Prime Minister for all Malaysians when he is arguing the case to be unfair to the 52% of the Malaysian electorate who had not supported the BN in the 13 General Election, who comprise all communities in Malaysia, whether Chinese, Malay, Indian, Kadazan or Iban?

Or is Najib prepared to give a quid pro quo to the 52% electorate to justify the government’s lack of fairness in policy and implementation by exempting them from payment of all forms of taxes including the GST to be implemented in April next year?

Secondly, how can Najib’s threat yesterday reconcile with his 1Malaysia Policy of treating all Malaysians as Malaysians first instead of their separate ethnic identities, especially as the 52% of the electorate who voted against the Barisan Nasional come from all ethnicities. It would appear that Najib himself is not sufficiently infused and inculcated with the 1Malaysia ethos and values.

Thirdly, the threat to penalize voters for exercising their citizenship and constitutional right to cast their votes in the 13GE runs against the very grain of wasatiyyah or moderation and therefore against his Global Movement of Moderates initiative.

Fourthly, Najib is making a full mockery of his pledge to make Malaysia the world’s “best democracy” when under him, Malaysian voters have only the “democratic” right to vote BN but not PR or to forfeit the fundamental right to demand fairness and good governance from the government.

Najib must be reminded that the aspirations of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region to good governance, democratic freedoms, economic justice and progress, educational excellence and sustainable environment transcend ethnic boundaries and political differences.

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or political differences have a right to demand justice from the government of the day, regardless of who they voted for in the last general elections.

This is the first test of whether we have a functioning democracy even before we can talk about wanting to be the world’s best democracy.

Can Najib let Malaysians know whether Malaysia under him has got a functioning democracy?