Calls grow for 'cowardly' Najib to stay put and look after his country

The censorship of memory is a clear mark of a dictator. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is no exception.

Not only did he flip flop on his decision to meet with Bersih 2.0 representatives, the premier also cleverly denied them access to hold a peaceful rally in Stadium Merdeka this Saturday.

If this is not embarrassing enough, Najib is set to leave the country tomorrow.

His official engagements in the UK and meeting with the Pope in Vatican City cannot be put on hold.

Any leader would stay in his country during the time of a political turmoil. Our Prime Minister is abandoning the nation at its most crucial time.

Every Malaysian is aware of the tension in the country over the last two weeks.

The nation has been besieged by arbitrary arrests, detentions and harassment against activists.

Same cowardly behavior at Ops Lalang 1987

Najib's cowardly act is of no surprise. We have seen the same during the time of former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He was nowhere to be seen when the Operasi Lalang was carried out by the police on October 27, 1987.

A total of 106 opposition leaders and social activists were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for detention without trial. The publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star and Sin Chew Jit Poh, were revoked.

When Dr Mahathir returned to the country, he blamed the former police chief Hanif Omar for the arrests.

Are we going to see a repeat of government crackdown on Friday?

Will Najib leave, only to pave the way for more arbitrary arrests under ISA? Will his absence be used to declare a state of emergency in Kuala Lumpur?

Nothing that the government does would surprise Malaysians anymore. The ruling UMNO/BN leaders have proven over and over that they would not hesitate to abuse their power to keep their positions intact.

This is shameless behavior. If Najib cares two hoots about the country and people, he will stay put.

Otherwise, he will only be too happy to get on the flight with his packed bags, leaving his cabinet ministers and police to do the dirty work for him.

Tomorrow, we would know the true calibre of this man

- Charles Santiago is the MP for Klang