Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today that Barisan Nasional leaders should not be afraid of telling him the "truth" just because they worry he could not sleep or may cry for it.

The new BN chairperson said he should not be told "nice stories" when in fact the people were facing various problems and were depending on the government to resolve them.

Abdullah gave this advice to BN component parties with the hope that the government can take effective and timely action to resolve any particular problem.

"Tell me the truth. At times people do not give truthful information... afraid I may cry or cannot sleep over it but as the leader, I have to hear the truth.

"If I'm unwilling to hear the truth then there is no need for me to be a leader," Bernama quoted him as saying after he opened the MIC national general election convention in Shah Alam this morning.

Desired effect

The premier said if the information given was not accurate then the government's follow up action to resolve the problem would not have the desired effect and this would result in erosion of support for the BN.

Failing to do so, Abdullah said the people would be disappointed because "they want something and we give them something else".

He added that the strength of the BN and its leaders should be used for the benefit of the people and the country and not for the convenience of any particular leader.

Abdullah, the country's fifth prime minister, took over from Dr Mahathir Mohamad on October 31.

The new premier had since vowed to put the battle against corruption in the public services as among his urgent tasks.

Addressing the MIC gathering earlier, Abdullah stressed that the government would not sideline the minorities in the country as it believed that all should have a share in national development.

"In bringing development, no group should be marginalised and all should be brought along to enjoy the fruits of development," he said.

Gov't doing its best

He admitted that the Malaysian Indian community was facing various problems but pledged that the government would continue its best to tackle those problems.

"We know the Indian community in Malaysia is facing many problems. We cannot lie to the people and say we have resolved all their problems. However the government is doing its best... if we cannot resolve them this year, most likely we can settle it next year," Abdullah said.

He expressed the hope that with efforts to strengthen the MIC election machinery, Indian support for the government would increase even more.

Last week, the yet-to-be-registered Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia requested a meeting with the new premier to discuss the problems of poverty and marginalisation among Indian Malaysians.

Another opposition party DAP had also cried foul recently over the increasing marginalisation of the Indian community and questioned MIC chief Samy Vellu of what he had done for the community in his two decades as the topmost Indian leader.