Chinese votes fell dramatically during the 13th general election allegedly because they believed "lies" about Bangladeshi phantom voters, said BN chief Najib Razak.

"Try to imagine, why did the Chinese votes drop?" he asked when officiating Gerakan's 43rd annual general meeting at Setia Alam, Selangor.

"Why? One of the reasons was because they (the opposition) spun the 40,000 Bangladeshis imported as voters," he said.

"Yes, today you laugh. But, you know, how many people believed (at the time)?.

"Many believed in an outright lie that was spun into absolute truth," said Najib. 

He said, the rakyat might be incited by the information they received, where some of them base on truth and some of them were lies which spread by the oppositions.

As such, Najib opined that it was important to educate the rakyat to think rationally, and a thinking public is important for Malaysia in achieving developed country and a mature democracy.

"We want a fully mature democracy, we must have a thinking public," he said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said he supports Gerakan's recovery effort, but urged the party to come out with a better plan than DAP to reclaim Penang.

Najib lauded Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong's initiative of appointing the winnable candidate in the next polls, and not those close to the party president.

"I support Gerakan's recovery plan - I hope Gerakan stays focused in the 45 seats.

"As a party president, there are people who want to sell your name, saying that they were close to the president.

"We are all victims, I am a victim too," he said.

While Najib emphasised that BN and Umno rejected all forms of extremism, he didn’t respond to Mah, who called for Umno to commit to take action on party members and leaders who spelled out extreme views.

Mah has also announced that his party will take disciplinary action against the members who came out extreme remarks and urged BN parties to do so.

The premier said that the moderate concept adopted should not be equated to the party being weak, but it is meant to make it stronger.

It is easier to be a hero for small group of people if one was to advocate something, than to be a leader accepted by all races and religions, but this will mark a true leader if it can be achieved, said Najib.