Pakatan Rakyat Will Not Be Able To Equal BN – Najib

(Bernama) — Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today the relations among Pakatan Rakyat parties are not as strong as those of Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, and are getting weaker by the day.

The deputy prime minister said that until now Pakatan Rakyat parties — Pas, DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) — had not been successful in coming up with a common policy.

"What is happening now is a clear proof of their lack of common stand and policy.

"They are just a loose pact aiming to topple the BN government but they could not even come up with a common policy.

"That is why we can see them having differences on many issues, including on the hudud laws, which are a mere political ploy by Pas," he told reporters after opening the Universiti Darul Iman's medical and health science faculty here.

Najib also took to task Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who said that he wanted to teach Umno a lesson or two about the hudud laws.

"Umno needs no schooling from Pas because Pas has been playing with politics all the while.

"On the hudud laws, I believe there are many non-Muslim voters who are feeling uneasy about the statement made by the Pas leader," he said.

On the progress of the Jan 17 Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election, Najib said, he was satisfied with the BN election machinery.

"Our machinery are moving smoothly… the party wings, component parties and the menteri besar and the candidate himself (Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh) and others are moving and meeting the voters," he said.

Najib, who is also Umno deputy president, said the BN was emphasising on the candidate who could serve the people effectively although PAS was promoting more on the personality of the candidate who could speak vociferously.

"It is obvious that the elected representative who can solve problems, bring changes and provide the best service is the candidate from the BN compared to the opposition. What's important is the reality, we are not talking about rhetoric," he said.

On the projects implemented by the Terengganu government which were described by the opposition as a waste of funds, Najib said the goverment had big plans for each project undertaken.

"The government had carried out many projects to assist the people, projects such as the Monsoon Cup should not be made an issue, but we can justify why the state government undertook it which, among other things, was to turn Terengganu into a tourist attraction," he said.

In his speech earlier, Najib said the setting up of the Medical and Health Science Faculty and the offering of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery by UDM (Universiti Darul Iman) was another manifestation of the government's efforts to provide a better life to the people.

"This demonstrates the federal government's concern for the people of Terengganu. When we returned to power in 2004, we immediately set up the university in Terengganu one year later, just as we promised.

"We honour our promises. Unlike some others who planned to set up the (federal) government on Sept 16, this has not been achieved even until today," he said.

UDM, the 18th public institution of higher learning in the country, is the first university in Terengganu to offer medical studies.

According to the Cabinet agreement, the faculty would only be opened in the year 2010, but the university's ability to fulfil all the conditions specified had enabled the faculty to be set up much earlier.