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"Umno, MCA and MIC must evaluate how far we are popular with the rakyat, not just in the party.
"If we are popular among party members, and we can win party posts, but whether our party is relevant or not, it depends on our ability to win the hearts of the people to support the BN.
"We within Umno, MCA and MIC must not forget this. Or else we will be punished in the next general election. The people's voice is 'keramat' (sacred) and let us not forget this," he said.
In a spirited speech that was greeted with thunderous applause from the 1,464 MIC delegates and over 1,000 party members and observers, Najib said the people of today were much more well-informed owing to the policies of the BN government.
"The minds of the people are wide open. That is why, to be a party that is relevant, and for the BN to be relevant and continue to be relevant, we must be connected to the rakyat. We must keep in touch with the people... when we are in touch with them, we will get the their support," he said.
Also at the function were Najib's deputy Muhyiddin Yassin and MIC president S Samy Vellu and other BN component party leaders - Dr Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan), Ong Tee Keat (MCA) and Malaysian United Indian Party (MIUP) president S Nallakarupan.
'Good product, good leader'
While Najib did not mention who the component party leaders who were only popular within the party but not with the people, he could be referring to Samy Vellu who has seen MIC losing its popularity in the Indian community.
He urged that the MIC's key performance index (KPI) to be geared towards regaining the full support of the community.
Getting repeated standing ovations for most parts of his speech, Najib said "you must 'buat kerja' (work hard), go down and serve the Indian people, serve the people of Malaysia.
"You must be loyal servants of the people. There is a Malay proverb 'kalau ular menyusur di akar tak hilang bisa'. If we go to the ground we will never lose the support of the people."
"The signal is clear we need a good product, a good leader... a leader who has the characteristics who is easy and is easily accepted by the people," the prime minister said.
He said being the country's leaders means one must be humble to the people.
"The people like humility and simplicity. They (the people) hate leaders who are arrogant who want to show off their wealth.
BN unity, Pakatan diversity, 1Malaysia
Najib also spoke on the role of the nation's forefathers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, his father Abdul Razak Hussein (Umno), Tan Cheng Lock (MCA) and VT Sambanthan (MIC) who played crucial roles in achieving the country's independence.
"If it were not for the unity and hard work shown by our forefathers, we would not have achieved independence from the British," he said.
Attacking the Pakatan Rakyat coalition as a marriage of convenience, he described the BN as a political institution based on political unity.
"One party is theocratic state (PAS), one is really secular Malaysia (DAP). Can they really govern Malaysia?" Najib asked.
"Look at the promise they made to Kampung Buah Pala. They made promises, don't worry if we win, you all will stay here forever. But looked what happened."
Najib said that he is promoting the 1Malaysia concept to promote national unity as it is also in line with Islam to be just to all races.
"We must be fair to all. If you do not believe me look at the Surah Al-Maidah chapter verse 8."
Najib also said that being fair was not about taking from the Malays and give it to others.
"Not at all. We have the wealth in the country, and we respect our
constitution."
Support BN and you will get more help
He also said that that poor people, irrespective of whether they are Malays, Chinese or Indians, should be assisted in line with the 1Malaysia concept.
"If we can do this, I believe we will be able to regain the people's support and restore the confidence in the BN, because the BN is a proven institution," he added.
Referring to Samy Vellu's speech earlier, Najib said he had fulfilled almost all of what the MIC president had requested for the Indian community.
He pledged that more assistance will be passed to the Indian community if they show their support to BN.
"We have already allocated RM100 million for Tamil schools, RM2 billion for the Indian community, another RM15 million to assist young Indian entrepreneurs. We will continue to provide if the response is good.
"We need the Indian community to show their support to BN. Show us that you are with BN. We have given a lot and we will continue (to give). But we need the Indian community to respond, to show that you are with the BN."
Hydrogen bomb vs nuclear bomb
The prime minister and BN supremo called on all the community to work together.
"Let us be one family, and share one dream, one nation, one people, and one Malaysia," Najib said ending his speech which was met with a standing ovation.
Earlier, Najib had the audience in stitches at the beginning of his speech when he spoke about Samy Vellu's statement several days ago that the MIC president said had a "hydrogen bomb", to which former MIC deputy leader S Subramaniam replied by saying that he too had a bomb - a "nuclear bomb".
"I heard of these bombs and asked the police bomb disposal unit to carry out a sweep, and they said that there was no bomb in PWTC.
"So we can now proceed with the general assembly safely," he said.
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