Najib Believes Sarawak Victory May Pave the Way for 13th General Election
(Bernama) – KUALA LUMPUR, 16 APRIL, 2011: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hinted that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) victory in the Sarawak election may pave the way for the 13th General election.
“As a government that relies on the support of the people, in line with the 1Malaysia concept of People First, Performance Now, I believe the win in Sarawak could serve as an impetus for the 13th General Election,” he said at the Putra World Trade Centre during a video conference session with Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud who was in Kuching tonight.
In the 10th Sarawak state election, BN secured a two-thirds majority, winning 55 of the 71 seats, to retain the state.
Najib who is also BN chairman said the win would also ensure that development programmes would continue in the state.
Also present were Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, UMNO vice president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, UMNO and BN Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and People’s Progressive Party President Datuk Seri M Kayveas.
He said although BN is excited over the win, he had to look at several factors before deciding whether the 13th General Election should be held in the near future.
“In these context, we are excited and inspired by the victory but this is just a state level election. Though Sarawak is big, it is still at a state level,” he said.
He was commenting on a question of whether the two-thirds victory was a signal for him to call for the next General Election soon.
Najib had during an interview with Bloomberg said that he would assess the outcome of the Sarawak election to decide when would be the best time to call for the General Election.
The Prime Minister said apart from Sarawak, BN would have to factor in developments in the peninsula and Sabah before making any decision.
Meanwhile, MIC President Datuk G. Palanivel described the BN’s victory in Sarawak as a good achievement.
“The victory was mainly due to the tireless efforts of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the BN machinery at all levels,” he told Bernama via a text message.
People’s Progressive Party President Datuk M. Kayveas said the Sarawak state election showed a good result for BN, despite facing strong challenge from the opposition.
“In fact we lost in certain parts but we managed to get two-thirds majority. However, BN should do some study on urban voters, find what is the problem,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
Gerakan President Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the government should find a more suitable approach to win the hearts of people in the urban areas.
He said transformation programmes introduced had shown some results but have yet to overcome the dissatisfaction among urban voters.
