KUALA LUMPUR, April 9- As the Barisan Nasional’s manifesto, unveiled on Saturday, continues to resonate on the ground, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the people will be the judge of his pledges to bring about a better future for all Malaysians. The Prime Minister, who is also the BN chairman, again assured that the BN government would fulfill and deliver on its promises to the people.
Stumping for his first election win as prime minister, Najib took his campaign to hundreds of government pensioners at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre earlier today. In an exclusive interview with Bernama TV tonight, Najib stressed that the coming general election must bring far greater benefits to the people than what they have now. He said the question must be asked whether the opposition parties can run the country well when they have diverse opinions among themselves and cannot even agree on direction and basic policies.
“Changing for the sake of change is not something wise. Instead, we must bring about changes which give us far greater benefit compared to our present situation,” he replied when asked on the opinion of certain quarters to give the opposition a chance to be in power. In the interview, Najib appealed to the Indian community to place their
“nambikei” (trust in Tamil) in the BN, adding that although they do not make up the majority in any parliamentary or state seat, they can be a deciding factor in states like Selangor, Perak, Penang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Kedah. Reiterating his commitment to uplift the economic status of the community so that it has three percent equity ownership in the country, Najib urged the Indian voters to regard MIC candidates as part of his team and support them if they want him to continue to lead the country.
A blogger who calls himself Papa Gomo was in the news for his intention to take on opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat or in any other seat he moves to. Nadi Rakyat Malaysia president Mohamad Rafi Awang Kechik told reporters that the blogger would contest as an independent and would reveal his identity on nomination day. Anwar, who is the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), filed a RM100 million suit against the blogger last month for defamation and for associating Anwar with a sex video featuring two men.
In a further sign of mutiny in PKR, two party members in Pahang today declared they would contest as independents for the Paya Besar parliamentary constituency, for which Anwar has already named a candidate, and Lepar state seat. Last night, 300 PKR members led by Indera Mahkota PKR vice-head M. Ramesh left the party and voiced their support for Najib, saying PKR had never cared for the interest of Indians.
In Kuantan, Paya Besar PKR chief Zahari Mamat told reporters after collecting the nomination papers that he would contest Paya Besar but remained a party member and continued to lead the division, while Paya Besar PKR youth chief Mohamad Fauzi Ramli will stand in Lepar. Anwar has already named lawyer Murnie Hidayah Anuar to stand in Paya Besar, won by the BN in the 2008 general election, and Pahang PKR liaison chairman Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman to defend Indera Mahkota which was won by a different
PKR candidate four years ago.
Joining the Indera Mahkota fight is a former Pahang PKR deputy chairman G. Ramponusamy who said he will contest as an independent while activist Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli will also run as an independent for the Teruntum state seat. The Election Commission will meet on Wednesday to set the nomination and polling dates.
BERNAMA
