BANKRUPT OF IDEAS, Najib attacks PR in Sandakan

CLEAR DIRECTION- Coalition practises fairness, says Najib

SANDAKAN: THE strength of the Barisan Nasional to win in the 13th general election hinges on the loyalty and unity of its members.

With a transformation agenda in place, the 13-member coalition remains the best choice for the people of Malaysia as it practised fairness and had a clear direction for the nation.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in comparison, the opposition was not even a registered grouping, had no common platform and were unable to agree on many things.

DAP, for instance, did not represent middle Malaysia or the spirit of unity of all the races in Malaysia, and this, said Najib, was evident when all eight Malay DAP leaders did not get enough votes to sit on the party's central executive committee during its two-day party congress which ended yesterday.

"The DAP is not only dominated by one race, but by a family dynasty where the father (Lim Kit Siang) received the highest number of votes and his son (Lim Guan Eng) came in second.

"There were eight Malay candidates and not even one won.

"How then can DAP say it represents Malaysia ?

"This would not have happened in BN, because we practise the 1Malaysia concept and are united. We resolve issues and discuss among members of the cabinet.

"Malaysia is in a good partnership known as BN. Believe me, we (Malaysia under BN) will go places, our economy will soar and investors will be more confident," he said when opening the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 23rd general assembly here yesterday.

LDP, which has one parliamentary and two state seats, is also the oldest member of the BN coalition in Sabah since 1989.

Present were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, LDP president Datuk Liew Vui Keong and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other state and federal leaders.

Najib said BN was serious and honest and delivered its promises to the people, unlike opposition leaders such as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

During Anwar's brief stint as acting prime minister in 1997 (during Dr Mahathir's premiership), he said Anwar had every opportunity to prove his worth, but took the easy way out by letting the International Monetary Fund have control over Malaysia during the economic crisis that year.

"He (Anwar) didn't protect the country's sovereignty. He never asked himself why he was not fit to become prime minister," he said, adding that the opposition leaders could not even decide who would be prime minister, Anwar or Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, if it came into power.

Najib also cited Dr Mahathir as an exemplary leader whose loyalty was with the party and its struggle.

"Tun Mahathir could have opted to stay and rest at home but instead he flew over just to be with us.

"This is an example of how a leader is willing to sacrifice anything for the love of the party."

Earlier, at the ground breaking for the construction of a mosque at Kampung Lupak Meluas, Najib said BN needed a bigger mandate to form a strong Federal Government.

He said the government could consider a second or even third round of Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) if BN was returned a stronger mandate.

- New Straits Times