The Malaysian Insider

By Clara Chooi

IPOH, Oct 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched his highly-publicised “1 Malaysia” concept before a crowd of at least 30,000 at the Perak Stadium here last night.

But according to some spectators, they had been bused in after collecting RM30 coupons.

Since Perak is still considered as shaky ground for the Barisan Nasional government, the large crowd would have been a confidence booster for Najib and his delegation, who included Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and the state executive councillors.

The cheers and shouts of support that greeted the administrators appeared to suggest that Najib's messages of reform and unity over the past few months had also successfully reached Perak folk.

It also seemed to show that the Prime Minister, despite being implicated as responsible for BN's power grab in Perak, had finally won them over.

The Malaysian Insider understands that earlier in the evening, some members of the public were registering themselves at certain locations throughout the city and were given coupons to collect at least RM30 in exchange for attending the function.

Some government-funded associations, for example, were asked to congregate at a particular location in town where they were given their money and subsequently ferried to the stadium by the busloads.

One member of the public, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Malaysian Insider that all he needed to do was to register his name at the location (his was in Sungai Siput), get his coupon and redeem it at a counter outside the stadium for RM30.

“It’s very simple. I got my RM30,” he said happily, adding that it was a fair deal as many people had to travel for some distance to attend the function.

Another member of the public said her association was also asked to attend the function and members were told to assemble outside a Chinese association hall in town to collect their money and use the bus transport.

This could perhaps be the reason behind the scores of buses that were seen ferrying people to the stadium last night.

The large vehicles were also the cause of the uncharacteristically long traffic queues leading towards the venue.

Najib, however, said the traffic jams meant that the people of Perak were embracing the “1 Malaysia” concept.

He congratulated the large crowd at the stadium for their attendance and said:

“You are not here because you were forced to. Your presence is out of the sincerity of your heart and your willingness to show support to 1 Malaysia.”

Najib added he had never been so proud to see such diversity in the crowd.

“As I entered this stadium, I was extremely proud to see this place packed with the people of 1 Malaysia. I waved my flag and I saw in every corner of this stadium, people from all walks of life, people of different races and cultures.

“I thank you for this. I am happy to see the spirit of the people of Perak in celebrating this I Malaysia ideal,” he said to the crowd that listened in rapt attention.

Najib also drove home to the crowd the fundamentals in the 1 Malaysia concept, which was to ensure that every Malaysian felt a “sense of belonging” to the country and that there would not be mere “tolerance” amongst the races but a genuine acceptance that every individual was equal.

He said that he did not want his brainchild “1 Malaysia” concept to be regarded as rhetoric or a mere political gimmick or slogan.

“We want to give a real meaning to 1 Malaysia. What is it? One of the main principles is social justice — we must be fair to all races.

“We will accord the Malays their rights and ensure that the Chinese and the Indians too are given fair consideration of theirs. We do not want one particular group to feel as though the government is ostracising or sidelining them.

“This is my pledge,” he said.

Najib also said the government wanted to introduce a new economic model for Malaysia, one that would bring the country to a higher level of transformation.

“We do not want to continue as a middle-income country. We do not want things to be stuck at status quo.

“We want to become a high-income nation to ensure that we can compete on a level field with other countries,” he said.

To achieve such a dream, added Najib, the government needed the help and skills of all races.

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