Najib: BN govt can go it alone, without unity govt

(Bernama) – The Barisan Nasional government has the capacity to continue administering the country without the formation of the proposed unity government, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Monday.

The prime minister said the Barisan government was strong and had the capability to implement its development programmes.

As such, the question of the Barisan government being weak that there was a need for a unity government did not arise, he told reporters after a meeting of the heads of Malaysian foreign missions at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, here.

He said the government had merely responded positively to a proposal by PAS for a unity government.

Najib was asked to comment on a meeting Monday among PAS, DAP and Parti Keadilan Raykat (PKR) which decided to dismiss the proposal for the formation of a unity government.

Najib said the government had responded positively to the proposal because it assumed that it was for the good of the country.

"We are consistent in our stand. Anything for the good of the country must be worked on together, even if the proposal comes from an opposition party," he said.

The proposal for a unity government came from PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang but it was opposed by many senior leaders of the party itself as well as the party's partners in the opposition alliance, DAP and PKR.

Asked whether the Malays would stand to lose now that the opposition alliance had dismissed the unity government proposal, Najib said: "I don't think so. I hope they are very measured in whatever they do and we will not go overboard with whether we have the talks or we don't have the talks (on the unity government).

"What's important is that we manage our differences and that we always have the nation in our hearts and minds."

Asked whether the unity government talks would reemerge in the future, Najib said anything was possible in politics.