I refer to the Malaysiakini report Keng Yaik: Follow your father, Najib .

It was more than 35 years ago when Abdul Razak revamped the Alliance coalition and formed Barisan Nasional. The unpleasant incidents related to the general elections held in 1969 are still etched in the people's memories.

Abdul Razak, the then prime minister, knew that the electorate needed something new to make a fresh start. He made the right decision to revamp the Alliance coalition and formed Barisan Nasional. It was a truly a wise move.

The new BN became a powerful coalition. It gave the people a new hope and new direction. The BN coalition received all-round encouragement and approval. It won the 1974 general elections handsomely with a two-thirds majority and went on to win all successive elections with great majorities - until 2008.

How did Abdul Razak win back the support of the people in 1974 and made the BN coalition relevant and strong? It was simple. He had the interests of the nation in his heart and truly believed that he should get back the support of all the races in the country.

Dr Lim Keng Yaik's statement, therefore, urging Najib Abdul Razak, the new prime minister, to follow his father, Abdul Razak, is timely and well-intended. Of course, a lot of changes have happened since 1974.

It is definitely not possible for Najib to govern exactly like his father. The business of politics has undergone massive transformations in the last three decades. But the basic tenets of democracy have not changed and cannot be changed.

No government can call itself ‘democratic' if its policies and plans are against the interests of its people and the nation at large.

The recent by-election results show that people have still not come back to trust and accept BN again. The new cabinet announced by Najib is disappointing. There is nothing new or radical about it.

Except for some new faces, a major portion of the new cabinet consists of ministers and deputies who have already been there for a long time and are likely to remain there for many years. And it is absolutely wrong to have politicians who have lost in the general elections to hold ministerial positions.

They may have won posts in the political party they represent. But to be in the government, they must get the support of the people and win the general elections. If the government wants to appoint politicians to the cabinet through this ‘back door' way, it may as well increase the senate seats in Parliament and appoint more senators as ministers.

It could even consider changing the policy to appoint only senators as ministers and deputy ministers. That way anybody can be appointed to the cabinet and the government need not care for the sentiment of the people who are burdened with electing trustworthy and effective people to Parliament.

It is no use trying to fight ‘bush fires' and doing some ‘patch work' to please and make some people happy at the expense of incurring the displeasure of a lot of people.

The government must find intelligent and innovative solutions and implement policies and plans to bring long-term benefits and permanent happiness for all the people. The relationship between the government and its people is like a marriage.

‘Trust' is the key word here and lost trust is extremely hard to get back. Whatever the new PM and his team wants to say or do, it must be towards uniting the people and making Malaysia a great nation.

The people must be convinced that the government is sincere and honest to the whole nation and not just to a particular community or a particular section of the population.

If Najib wants to make BN relevant again, it is crucial for him to win back the trust and support of all the various races and communities in the country. Otherwise, he and his team can be rest assured that the BN government's image will remain shattered forever.