Opposition stalwart Lim Kit Siang has issued a challenge to newly minted Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He dared the premier to seek a vote of confidence as the first item when Parliament reconvenes on June 15.

najib tun razak 220509 Slamming Najib for his critical comments on Pakatan Rakyat's victory in Sunday's Penanti by-election, Lim said it is Najib who should feel the heat that his record is nothing to be proud about.

Citing a recent opinion poll by Merdeka Centre, Lim said: "It is indeed shocking that less than two months into his administration, Najib could only muster the approval of 45 percent of Malaysians polled."

"It is clear that Najib is still in the very throes of a crisis of confidence in the credibility, integrity and legitimacy of his premiership, compounded by his refusal to dissolve the Perak state assembly to hold elections in the state," he added in a statement.

He also asked if the premier was afraid of seeking a vote of confidence in case he is unable to secure 100 percent support from Umno and Barisan Nasional parliamentarians.

"Both (third prime minister) Hussein Onn and (former premier) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sought a vote of confidence from Parliament in their first month in office. Why is Najib afraid to follow in their footsteps?" he asked.

Lim also noted that Kuala Lumpur was named among the 10 riskiest locations in the world for outsourcing by the 'Black Book of Outsourcing'.

Kuala Lumpur was named the fourth riskiest location, while Singapore tops the list of the world's safest location in the world for outsourcing, he said.

"This is an indication of the continuous erosion of national and international confidence in Malaysia under Najib's premiership, an added reason why he should be brave enough to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament," he added.

'Sour grapes' comments

The veteran politician also took offence with Najib's statement that Pakatan's win in the Penanti polls was nothing to boast about as it cannot be used as a yardstick to gauge the popularity of any political party.

Speaking to reporters in Korea, the premier had said PKR candidate Mansor Othman’s win was "not exciting" as the voter turnout was less than 50 per cent and "a win against independent candidates is not an absolute win… something that one can be proud of."

"This is really sour grapes by Najib," responded Lim.

anwar ibrahim sodomy allegation saiful bukhari azlan first day in court 070808 lim kit siang 01 "He should be ashamed of himself that Umno and BN that he leads dare not contest in Penanti, for fear that it would be his third consecutive by-election defeat in the peninsular since becoming prime minister and BN's fifth consecutive defeat since the March 8 political tsunami," he added.

Mansor garnered 6,052 votes to win the by-election against the three independent candidates - Aminah Abdullah (392 votes), Nai Khan Ari Nai Keow (494 notes) and Kamarul Ramizu Idris (56 votes).

Lim said many Pakatan voters did not come out to vote, especially those working outside the constituency who did not take the trouble to return to the constituency to cast their votes as they regard it as a certain victory for PKR.

"If BN had contested, the Umno candidate would have got a thrashing even worse than in last year's general election.

"As it is, the one-sided by-election result was a clear repudiation of Najib's premiership," he added.