BALING: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has extended an apology to the people on behalf of Barisan Nasional for mistakes that led voters to reject it at the last general election.

“We have learnt from the mistakes and we are sorry.

“The winners are sorry ... and the losers, too, are sorry,” he said, pledging to the people of Kedah that Barisan would rise again to build an even better state government than the one they have now.

He said Barisan would make up by serving the people in the best way possible.

Special gift: Najib receiving a memento from 82-year-old Jab Yunus (second from right) during the gathering at the Kuala Ketil public field yesterday.

The voters' rejection of Barisan, such as in Kedah, was due to the mistakes made by the coalition, he said at a meet-the-people gathering at the Kuala Ketil public field, near here, yesterday.

“I believe we should not be arrogant. In a parliamentary democracy, we have to subject ourselves to the power of the people. We must have made mistakes for the people to have rejected us. We apologise for our past mistakes,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

“What is past is past and it should not be brought up again. Now, we promise a new change for Kedah and also for Malaysia,” added Najib, who visited here as part of his one-day trip to the Baling and Sungai Petani parliamentary constituencies.

Najib, who is Barisan chairman, said only the coalition could transform the country into a fully developed nation.

He said Barisan's plans were not like the Pakatan Rakyat's Buku Jingga manifesto that makes promises but could not deliver.

Najib said Barisan was committed to making the changes but to realise them, it would need a strong mandate from the people.

“We cannot make it on our own and we also cannot make it if we only win one or two seats. We need to win big in the next election to enable us to make the changes.

“The journey has started and when the time comes, we hope to get a new mandate,” he said.

Najib said the huge turnout during the programme yesterday indicated that the people in the state wanted to see a change.

On the conflict in the PAS-led state government, he said it showed that the party was in a mess and this was not good for the people and the state.

“I do not want to say much about it but the conflict has really troubled the people,” he said.

Later, when launching a three-day Barisan assemblymen retreat in Kedah which began on Friday, Najib told Barisan elected representatives to emulate the fighting spirit of pre-Independence leaders to get close to the people.

He said Barisan representatives should be close to the people and learn about their needs and feelings, adding that the coalition would include the needs of Kedahans in its manifesto for the general election.

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