Najib to Umno: Safeguard our image

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has stressed the importance of upholding the country's good image and to this end, Umno leaders should refrain from criticising the government.

He told Umno leaders yesterday: "We have to safeguard our image. If we belittle our image, who loses? We lose. They (foreign countries) are confident in Malaysia. We are on the right path."

He was speaking after handing out dates and cloth for Hari Raya Aidilfitri to the needy at Kuala Lumpur's National Mosque.

The prime minister said Umno was able to fund the items distributed because Malaysia was well run, the Malay Mail reported.

"Even Rohingya refugees who reach our waters, if they can reach our shores, they will kiss Malaysian land.

"Because they are so grateful to be in Malaysia, they know they are safe here and they can find a means of living in Malaysia," he said.

Mr Najib added that Malaysia's standing in the international community constitutes the basis of its cordial relations with many other countries, the New Straits Times reported.

He said: "For example, when the war in Yemen began and we needed to evacuate our citizens from that country, it had to be done via Saudi Arabia. It is our good relations with Saudi Arabia that allowed us access through their airspace and borders, which helped us bring all our people home safely."

SEEKING AN EXPLANATION

In a related development, Mr Najib has summoned Malaysian Indian Congress president Seri Palanivel to "explain" the comments he made at Putra World Trade Centre on Saturday, The Star reported.

Mr Najib tweeted yesterday: "He should stop blaming others and must abide by the decision of the courts and Registrar of Societies (RoS)."

Mr Palanivel had told thousands of supporters at a special gathering that Mr Najib and Barisan Nasional "got involved in pressuring MIC to reject the 2013 election results".

He said that since then, the party was taken to court to challenge the directive by the RoS to hold a re-election of all posts.

On Tuesday, the High Court dismissed two judicial review applications filed by Mr Palanivel and others in relation to the RoS directive for the party to hold fresh elections.

It upheld RoS' decision for the party to hold re-elections at all levels (branches and divisions), including the president's post.

This article was first published on June 22, 2015.
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