Najib: Five reasons why BN must be given a clear mandate in GE13

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — The vision and direction of Barisan Nasional (BN), including Umno, which is clear in developing the nation, is among five reasons outlined by the prime minister as to why the component parties must be given a clear mandate in the 13th general election.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also BN chairman and Umno president, said as an experienced party, Umno as the backbone in BN, always spurred numerous ideas and transformation towards a bright future for the nation compared to the opposition which was still blur on the matter.

Furthermore, Umno and BN also formed a pact which was tied to policies that were mutually supported and there was no conflict whether in terms of policy or ideology, and this was different from the opposition parties which often issued opinions which were at odds, even on basic and fundamental matters, he said.

“Thirdly, we have a proven track record of our achievements which cannot be disputed in managing the nation, whereby, we have also received the confidence of the people that the road map to the future was based on our capability to implement all these while.

“This means, the people are confident of our capability in implementing the national agenda, namely, a major transformation, which we are keen to show,” he said in an interview with editors of Bernama and Utusan Malaysia in conjunction with the 2012 Umno General Assembly at his office in Parliament recently.

Najib said as a government, Umno and BN had the moral strength and always held on to promises where every promise made was guaranteed to be achieved, and no promises that could not be fulfilled, were made.

He said the promises of the BN government were clearly in the interest of the people and always met based on the principle of promises fulfilled compared to the promises of the opposition which were aimed at deceiving voters to meet their desire of conquering Putrajaya.

The BN chairman said the final reason which must be given attention was that the people should not gamble away their future by handing over the country to parties which could not promise a better future while their credibility was also being disputed.

“Our future, the future of our children are too valuable to be gambled with, on the other hand with BN, the level of confidence is higher… this can be seen from the market performance with the entries of local and foreign investors,” he said.

On why Malays did not use religion as a basis of unity as done by other communities, Najib said: “The Malays have been confused by the incessant instigations and defamations against Umno leaders and Umno itself, although the propaganda were political attacks which had no basis.” 

Najib was of the opinion the Malays were also deceived by the external images such as the label of a party which claimed to be Islamic and the appearances of their leaders who were regarded as being more Islamic.

He said by right, parties should be evaluated in terms of their contents and agenda which could boost the Islamic struggle, and Umno had proven it could uphold the demands of Islam based on Maqasid Syariah.

“Since the past we fought for Islam, starting with the constitution, the setting up of Islamic institutions and Islamic programmes which we created and raised in stature such as Islamic banking,” he said.

Asked about his expectations from the delegates at the end of the assembly, Najib hoped all Umno members present would absorb his messages and then interpret them into actions and attitudes.

“For example, much emphasis will be placed on how they will face the 13th general election and how we must boost our preparedness not only physically such as operation rooms and material aid but also in terms of spirit and attitude to prioritise victory in the general election against any other considerations even if they were greatly desired by us,” he said.

He also hoped the delegates who would be debating would be able to analyse, answer and ward off any national issue and allegations hurled at the party. — Bernama