KUALA LUMPUR: Najib Razak’s U-turns on promised reforms and his silence in the face of political tension has proven that he is not capable of change, said MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok in a statement today.
Calling the prime minister a “self-styled reformer”, Teresa also said, “Time has certainly proven that he is not a reformer and all his talk about moderation and need for political reconciliation ring hollow.”
She said this in regard to the passing of the dreaded Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) 2015 which she said Barisan Nasional “bulldozed” in Parliament Monday.
Saying Najib was going against his pledge to “make Malaysia the best democracy in the world”, Teresa also pointed out that apart from POTA, the proposed amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 were making it even more “draconian” and was coming at the wrong time since the law’s constitutionality was being challenged in court.
Warning the PM that his broken promises to the people could well cost him his premiership, Teresa said, “Lest Najib think that his U-turn and pandering to the regressive forces within and outside Umno will ensure his survival as the nation’s Prime Minister, he should be reminded how the former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi‘s failure to deliver promised reforms had resulted in BN’s unprecedented electoral disaster in the 2008 general election and Badawi’s subsequent resignation as Prime Minister.”
She also reminded Najib of his deputy prime minister’s winding up speech at the Umno General Assembly last year in which Muhyiddin Yassin said that a mere two per cent drop in votes in the next general election, could spell the end for Barisan Nasional in Putrajaya.
She added, “With the introduction of more repressive laws, Najib is ignoring Muhyiddin’s warning and public sentiment at his own peril.”