BY LOH FOON FONG
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Barisan Nasional will uphold the principles of being moderate, progressive, centrist, inclusive and fair as it continues to champion the interest of the people.
The Prime Minister said the Barisan rejects communal politics and extremism to safeguard what had been built by the coalition’s founding fathers.
“As the Prime Minister and Barisan chairman, I will maintain this cause, in line with the party and the Government,” he said, adding that the voices of the Barisan component parties would be heard.
“We try to achieve consensus. We may not be able to agree 100% (all the time), but we’ll try as far as possible to accommodate all views.
“This is the spirit of Barisan,” he said when opening the Gerakan 42nd National Delegates Conference here yesterday.
On Gerakan, Najib said the party was progressive in maintaining a moderate stance since its beginnings.
For this reason, his late father, second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and Gerakan president Tun Lim Chong Eu founded the Barisan 40 years ago.
Najib said he was happy to see Gerakan staying true friends of Barisan and had made efforts to re-invent itself.
“Under the leadership of Lim, Penang flourished. Ironically, the state has become a challenge to us, not because of our failure but because of the success of the Barisan’s policies,” he said.
Najib said the younger generation were not attracted to the development politics approach.
“To some extent, we have become a victim of our success,” he said, adding that they had to change to meet the people’s needs and that he had started the change by introducing various transformation programmes.
Outgoing Gerakan acting president Datuk Chang Ko Youn reminded delegates that Gerakan was borne out of a vision for a fairer, just and equitable and inclusive Malaysia.
He also said that the “Razak spirit of 1974” had been forgotten by many leaders within Barisan.
“Many have forgotten that Tun Razak advocated a model of conciliatory and not punitive politics,” he said.
PM: BN rejects extremism
BY LOH FOON FONG
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has assured the people that Barisan Nasional and the Government will reject extremism, as it threatens to destroy the moderate stance that its founders propagated.
Barisan will maintain a moderate, fair, inclusive, progressive and centric coalition.
"We will continue to improve. I agree that there are many things that we need to improve on," he said during the Gerakan’s 42nd National Delegates Conference 2013 Saturday.
Najib said they would build on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.
The Prime Minister also noted his late father, second Prime Minister Tun Abul Razak Hussein and the late Gerakan president Tun Lim Chong Eu founded Barisan 40 years ago and the party had been a true friend of Barisan until now.
At a press conference, acting Gerakan president Datuk Chang Ko Youn said Gerakan would be recommending Liang Teck Meng, the only parliamentary survivor during the 13th general election earlier this year, to a government post.
He declined to say whether it would be a Cabinet post or otherwise.
Liang defended the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat in Johor by defeating PAS candidate Suhaizan Kaiat with a 5,706-vote majority.
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