We have just ended the first week of Parliament and we see the Barisan Nasional in total defensive, unable to give a proper and satisfactory accounting of the many burning issues in the country resulting in the continuous erosion of public confidence in the credibility, integrity and legitimacy of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The 25-minute ruckus at the start of the first day in Parliament on 15th June following the swearing-in of the PAS MP for Bukit Gantang, Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, when he shocked everyone with loud and righteous cries of “Hidup Rakyat. Bubar DUN” served one important purpose – to focus national attention on the most shameful episode in the 52-year history of Malaysian parliamentary history, the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak based on three “political frogs” who had to hide from the public for fear of popular condemnation for more than four-hand-a-half months!

I confess I was shocked when Nizar, in the podium of the House, shouted “Hidup Rakyat. Bubar DUN” with his raised fist, as I had not expected him to do that, but I was pleasantly shocked, as he had highlighted the deep-seated feelings of all Malaysians concerned about justice and democracy.

In the first week of Parliament, neither the ministerial nor parliamentary teams of Barisan Nasional was able to take the offensive, as they could not give credible or acceptable accounts on all the burning issues of the day, whether:

• The undemocratic and illegal power grab in Perak;
• The RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, made worse with the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, absconding to Paris to avoid parliamentary accounting;
• Public cynicism over the “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” slogan of Prime Minister Najib, with daily examples reducing it to a joke – like the “annual begging session” with SPM top-scorers denied PSD scholarships despite the government claim that 20% or 400 places out of 2,000 foreign scholarships would be allocated strictly on meritocracy;
• Failure of the two RM67 billion economic stimulus packages;
• Rampant crime with Malaysians never so unsafe in the country since Merdeka in 1957, and yet with police more concerned with protecting the political interests of the Barisan Nasional, stretching police resources to harass Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGO activists instead of catching criminals and reducing crime.

The defensive mode of Barisan Nasional in the first week of Parliament is added reason why Najib should seek a motion of confidence to buttress his credibility, integrity and legitimacy as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Many are baffled and puzzled why the Prime Minister is suddenly raising the subject of “Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat unity government” talks when earlier it was all about “Umno-Pas unity government” talks.

We are all Malaysians and there is no reason why we cannot sit down to talk about issues concerning the people and nation but to talk about “BN-PR unity government” talks is more than premature.

Let the BN and PR parties sit down to talk about the burning issues I had mentioned just now: the undemocratic coup d’etat in Perak; a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal; how to make Najib’s slogan “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” really meaningfully; how to unite Malaysians to successfully face the worst global crisis in a century and transform Malaysia into a high-income developed nation; make Malaysia safe for its citizens, tourists and investors; eradicate corruption, etc.

If we cannot even sit down to talk about these burning issues to find solutions to them, any talk of “BN-PR unity government” is utterly unrealistic.