Najib finally limps in with BN manifesto announcement: Will he 'cut and paste' from the PR's People's Hope?

UPDATED Prime Minister Najib Razak finally limped in with his coalition's manifesto, a day after dissolving Parliament and more than a month after his arch rival Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had launched the Pakatan Rakyat's.

Najib said on Twitter that the BN manifesto would be unveiled on Saturday.

"I am confident the people will continue to give us another mandate in the 13th general election. We promise a better Malaysia," tweeted the Umno president.

NajibRazak Manifesto @barisanasional diumum Sabtu. Saya yakin rakyat terus beri mandat kpd kami pd PRU13. Kami janjikan M'sa yg lebih baik di masa dpn

Copycat again?

There are already concerns and as well as laughter that the BN would "cut and paste" from the PR's People's Hope manifesto that consists of 4 main thrusts The People's Well-being; The Fraternity of the People; The People's Economy; andThe People's Government (click to read 'INI KALI-LAH': PR unveils 'winning' manifesto, throws support behind Anwar as next PM).

At a press conference held after the Umno supreme council meetings, Najib not only said the BN manifesto would focus on improving the living standards of the people and the economy, he borrowed from words used by Anwar a day ago.

Anwar had said he was "cautiously optimistic" that PR could win GE13.

So today, Najib - as reported by the Malaysian Insider - too said he was “cautiously optimistic” that BN would “win big”, stressing that the ruling coalition had to work hard and minimise internal problems.

“We commit to promises made,” Najib told reporters who had gathered at the Putra World Trade Centre.

“Based on national transformation, the manifesto’s emphasis will be on improving the living standards of people and improving the economy."

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced it will meet on Friday to decide on the nomination and polling dates for the 13th general election. The guessing game over when Malaysians will cast their ballots have already begun. The latest date is May 28.

Some political observers believe the EC - accused of bias towards the BN government - will fix the polling date as far away as it could, perhaps on May 11, while others think it would go for April 27 or even earlier such as on April 20 or 21.

Other Umno leaders attending the meeting expressed confidence in beating the PR.

“We have been working hard. The people have also realised their mistakes in choosing the opposition the last time,” said Rafidah Aziz, the former Wanita chief and International Trade minister.

Malaysia Chronicle