PHUKET, May 24- Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (photo) said the proposal to turn Barisan Nasional (BN) into a single party is rational and needs to be studied in detail to ensure continuous support from the people in future.
He said the major and significant proposal to ensure that the BN remained relevant must be considered immediately by every component party and given a response as soon as possible if the results of the recent general election were to be taken into account.
“After taking into consideration what had transpired in the last general election, BN leaders had posed the question whether the BN should be reviewed because the collaboration that existed currently was based on the merger of the 13 parties which had become components of the BN with each party having its own constitution and were merely merging based on the BN name.
“There were those who felt that now was probably the time for the merger to be formed in a more concrete manner, that is, the BN as a political party and no longer a merger of various political parties,” he said when commenting on the proposal by the Gerakan party that called for the BN to be in the form of a single party as stated by its acting president Datuk Chang Ko Youn, two days ago.
Speaking to reporters during his visit here, Muhyiddin said there was basis in the suggestion but it called for every component party to undertake an in-depth study by obtaining feedback and views from the respective party members because it involved the structure of its formation and organisation.
He said although the suggestion might receive objections, it was important that all party members looked ahead and if they felt that it should be implemented, an implementation mechanism that could be accepted by all members of the BN component parties must be submitted immediately.
“This is more than a matter of self-evaluation, we must look at the existing BN structure to see whether the time has come for the formation of a party to be named the BN, and no longer in the form of a merger of BN component parties but the BN as a single political party,” he said.
In this regard, he suggested that a political laboratory be set up to come up with ideas on the new format for the BN as suggested where everyone, including non-members of the party who were concerned about the future of the nation and wished to make contributions could be roped in.
“Personally, I find it is rather massive but I also feel it is important because I don’t know whether we can sustain this situation for the next five years. But certainly, this question must be addressed immediately and if appropriate, how it can be implemented.
“This must be considered within the next few months and if it is deemed appropriate after the laboratory is formed, a convention could possibly be held where the BN leaders could sit together to discuss the future direction and survival of the party,” he said.
Asked whether he would take up the proposal on the formation of the laboratory to a higher level, Muhyiddin said: “At the BN level, I have also informed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that possibly one of the matters that we will study is the structure of the BN itself, not only in terms of the cosmetics but seriously how it should change to a new structure which is more progressive.”
He said the proposal took into consideration the changes in the thinking of the people, the voters and the young generation who partly did not want to see the formation of a race-based party.
– BERNAMA
