Najib to Indians: You help me, I help you

The prime minister issued his famous punchline yet again at an event to celebrate Thaipusam.

SELAYANG: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today told hundreds of thousands of Indians celebrating Thaipusam at Batu Caves here that if they “helped him”, the government would also in return “help you”.

“If you help me, I’ll help you. You trust me I trust you. Nambikei (trust) between all of us. Malaysia will prosper, Indians will prosper, all races can go forward!” Najib said to loud applause from the crowd in front of the temple.

Najib, who was visiting Batu Caves for his third consecutive year, then returned to the stage and announced an “initial allocation” of RM2 million to build an Indian cultural centre.

The cultural centre was a request made by the Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam Temple chairman R Nadarajah.

Earlier, Nadarajah in his speech complained that the government had failed to fulfil certain promises made to the temple.

Najib was famously quoted as telling “you help me, I help you” during the Sibu parliamentary by-election in May 2010. The opposition had claimed that his statement amounted to corruption.

Najib hoped with the RM2 million, which will be supplemented in stages, early work on the cultural centre can begin.

He also hinted at another “big announcement” for the Indian community in the near future.

He rebutted allegations that the government had made empty promises.

“As a government, we have never gone back on our word. If we promised something, we will surely do it… whether they are promises to the Indians or other races. I give an assurance that promises will be fulfilled,” Najib said

Positive impact

“I stand before you today, and I can say in three years, we have helped Indians in all aspects and it has made such a positive impact. It was so much more than we’ve done in the past,” he said.

Also with Najib was his wife Rosmah Mansor, MIC president G Palanivel, former president S Samy Vellu and Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar.

During his speech, Najib, who was dressed in a kurta together with Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, jokingly remarked that “Me and him (Hishammuddin), we can say, look more ethnic India than Indians themselves… ”

Najib said that since 2010, the government has acknowledged Batu Caves as not only a religious site for the Indians but also as a centre of culture and tourism.

He also said that the RM3.6 million allocation to renovate the Batu Caves temple and a RM4 million to build a Tamil school – SJKT Batu Caves – have borne fruit.

“We don’t just indulge in empty talk. We don’t bluff, we talk the truth.”

“If we have a partnership between the government and the Indians, we can do many things. If you have Nambikei, then there is nothing we cannot solve,” he added.