KUALA TERENGGANU, 9 Jan 2009: Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today the relationship between Pakatan Rakyat parties was not as strong as those between Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.
Additionally, he claimed that the relationship among the opposition parties was getting weaker by the day.
The deputy prime minister said that the Pakatan Rakyat, comprising PAS, DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), had yet to successfully come up with a common policy.
“What is happening now is clear proof of their lack of a common stand and policy.
“They are just a loose pact aiming to topple the BN government but they cannot even come up with a common policy.
“That is why we can see them having differences on many issues, including on hudud laws, which are a mere political ploy by PAS,” he told reporters after opening 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 hudud laws.
“Umno needs no schooling from PAS because PAS has been playing with politics all the while.
“On hudud, 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 17 Jan Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election, Najib said he was satisfied with the BN election machinery.
“Our machinery is 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 focused on promoting a candidate who could effectively serve the people while PAS was promoting its candidate’s personality instead.
“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.
Government projects
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.
“The government has 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. Among other things, it 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 Universiti Darul Iman was also proof of the government’s efforts to improve people’s lives.
“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.
The university, the 18th public institution of higher learning in the country, is the first university in Terengganu to offer medical studies.
The faculty was supposed to be opened in 2010, but the university’s ability to fulfill all conditions enabled an earlier opening. — Bernama
