Friday October 9, 2009
Najib: Winning is the priority
By CHOI TUCK WO and ZULKIFLI ABDUL RAHMAN
PARIS: Winning the Bagan Pinang by-election is more important to Barisan Nasional than the size of the majority obtained, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.
“But we have to work very hard and conduct an effective campaign to get the message across to voters in order to win,” he told Malaysian journalists at the end of his four-day working visit to France.
On suggestions that the latest by-election could be a yardstick to gauge public support for Barisan in the next general election, he said people were free to make all kinds of assessments.
“The important thing for us is to win and consolidate the party,” he said, adding that the outcome of a general election could not be based on just one by-election.
Mute 67-year-old Yusof Puteh, an ardent supporter of Barisan Nasional doing his bit for candidate Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad yesterday. Motorists who saw him cycling near Port Dickson town, honked to give their support. – ART CHEN / The Star On Umno’s special assembly to amend its constitution next week, Najib, who is party president, insisted he would not “hide” behind the quota system or excessively strict conditions to avoid being challenged.
He said he was keeping an open mind on the electoral reforms aimed at promoting transparency and openness and reducing unhealthy practices like money politics.
“Our proposal is to make it as open as possible. The structure and details will be decided by the delegates,” he said.
In Port Dickson, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged the people not to believe the slander being spread by the Opposition against him and the Prime Minister.
The Opposition, he said, resorted to such actions to cover up their own weaknesses.
“They don’t want you to know about the in-fighting between them which has caused problems in the administration of the Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states.
“Their political propaganda has also caused fear and discontent among the races. There is so much politicking between them that the people’s welfare has taken a back seat,” he said at the launch of the 1Malaysia dialogue organised by the Malaysian Indian-Muslim Congress (Kimma) yesterday.
Muhyiddin has also denied that he had issued a directive to Umno Youth members to come to Bagan Pinang to fight with PAS Youth members.
He was commenting on a purported SMS message that was being spread asking Umno Youth members throughout the country to come down to Bagan Pinang to take on PAS Youth members to defend Umno’s reputation.
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