Najib: Anwar’s proposal will be considered

(FMT) – Najib Tun Razak said he will consider the proposal of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to the Barisan Nasional (BN) to cooperate towards a peace plan.

The Prime Miniser said he would bring up the matter to the Cabinet.

He said what was important was that the nation was always peaceful and could determine the people’s wellbeing was looked after.

“Let me discuss this with the Cabinet later. Regardless of the ideology or political belief, what is important is that we follow the rule of law and safeguard communal and religious sensitivities and respect each other’s rights based on the federal constitution and the laws of the states and country,” he told reporters after launching the book ‘Maps of Malaya and Borneo: Discovery, Statehood and Progress’ here, today.

He said this when commenting on Anwar’s offer on Sunday, which was reported in the newspapers, for a dialogue to reach a national consensus especially related to religious and communal harmony in the country.

Najib also said he had raised the issue of national reconciliation after the last general election, that both sides must respect the decision made by the people.

“It was a pre-condition to achieve national reconciliation but we know the opposition did not want to accept the result and carried out gatherings and continue to accuse us of cheating, alleging that we brought in 40,000 Bangladeshi nationals to vote.

“All were proven to be lies and baseless. Now, this proposal crops up, which we had made at the outset,” he said.

Commenting on the issue of the use of the word Allah, which among others was contained in Anwar’s proposal, Najib said the government had made a stand on the matter as had been stated after the Umno supreme council meeting recently.

“Our stand is clear and we hope all quarters can accept it so that it does not affect those of other faiths to freely practice their religions in peace.

“Our stand is clear on the matter. What is important is for all quarters to understand the decision made by the government,” he said.