PM: Next general election will be D-Day for Barisan Nasional

By Sira Habibu, The Star

THE next general election, scheduled to be held by mid-2013, will be “Judgment Day” for Barisan Nasional, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

Held later or earlier, the Prime Minister said the result of the election would indicate the future survival of the long-serving coalition.

However, he added, the indications now were that the people were responding positively and restoring their faith in Barisan.

“But we cannot take it easy,” he told the Malaysian media here covering the Sixth General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP).

“We must work even harder. Barisan has changed. We dare to change and make changes to convince the rakyat that our party is dynamic and sensitive to public needs and wants,” he said.

Earlier, in his keynote address at the assembly, Najib said it was important for long-serving political parties to be attuned to the current needs of the public.

“History has shown that even legendary ruling parties were ousted in elections as they were not attuned to the changing needs with the changing times,” he said, describing the 2008 general election in Malaysia as “a sobering albeit painful wake-up call” for Barisan.

“For the first time in history we (the Barisan) lost five states to the Opposition as well as our two-third majority in Parliament.

“But in the last 18 months, the ruling coalition had undergone significant transformation and the 13 political parties that make up the coalition have made great strides in changing and winning back the hearts of the people,” said Najib, who is also the Barisan chairman.

He reminded the gathering that it was critical for any political party to understand the need to change.

“Do not change for the sake of changing but change to better serve the needs of the stakeholders,” he said, adding that transformation and re-invention were essential in keeping with changing times.

Warning that in-fighting, internal power struggle and complacency could break even formidable parties, Najib said this could lead to the electorate shifting their support to alternative political forces that can serve their needs better.

“The current trend shows there is an overwhelming demand from the masses for inclusion and participation in the political process and in nation-building.

“A political party that understands these new rules of political engagement is the party of the future,” he said.