Najib: Umno can mobilise 3 million if we wanted to

Umno president Najib Abdul Razak said Umno is capable of mobilising 3 million of its members if it wanted to go all out against those elements seeking to bring about chaos through street demonstrations.

However, the party will not do so as that is not the responsible way of resolving issues, said the prime minister.

"We (Umno) have three million members, not taking into account the members of the other (BN) component parties.

"We can assemble three million people, but is that a responsible way of doing things?"

"If we sound the semboyan (bugle), they can go all out... But is this the responsible way of doing things?" he said in a speech in a coastal town in Sabah today.

Najib said the BN-led government is responsible and does not want to see the use of force, “as this is not the way we handle things in Malaysia.

He said general elections are held whenever the time is appropriate in which all parties can take part in campaigns.

“We have general elections... You want to campaign, campaign lah! You want to talk until you cannot talk anymore, carry on! You want to make noise, make noise lah!” said the prime minister.

“They say (polls must be) bersih... We don’t even know whether or not they are bersih,” he quipped in reference to the Opposition on a play on the Bersih 2.0 coalition demanding free and fair elections.

“They themselves have a lot of problems,” he added.

'I don't want to be PM by fraudulent means'

Najib also stressed that Malaysia was not like other countries where its ruling government wins up to 95 percent of votes in polls that are seen as suspect by many quarters.

“In Malaysia, that has never happened. We win because of the people’s support. I do not want to be a prime minister chosen fraudulently. I want to be a prime minister as the people like us and are comfortable with BN,” he said.

Because of the rakyat’s trust in BN, the government works all out for the welfare of the people. Malaysia is, furthermore, at the threshold of transforming into a more developed and peaceful nation with clear development plan which needs time to be realised, Najib added.

“But should all this be sacrificed due to the lust of certain quarters for the post of prime minister (and) of taking over Putrajaya,” he asked.

Najib reiterated that street demonstrations such as the one planned for July 9 by certain quarters can bring about disaster in the blink of an eye, what more when emotions and public sentiments are provoked.

If some are willing to fan the flames of emotions during the illegal assembly, it is “our friends, our family” who are going to be victims, he said.

When a thuggish pyschology takes hold, good people can become violent and uncontrollable and pose dangers to lives and property.

The prime minister also emphasised the importance of his 1Malaysia concept, saying it should be internalised by all Malaysians so that it does not remain a mere slogan or the stuff of posters but becomes part of the values, perception and way of thinking for the Malaysian people.

Najib praised the social harmony in Sabah as the best example of1Malaysia that can serve to lead the people towards living a life of peace and without barriers.

He also announced an allocation of RM30 million for the reconstruction of the Sipitang district police headquarters and another RM2.7 million to repair the roof of one Sipitang Esplanade.

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