PARIS, 8 Oct 2009: Winning in the Bagan Pinang state by-election is more important to the Barisan Nasional (BN) than the size of the majority obtained, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
“There’s no need to talk about winning big or small, as long as [we] win. Winning is the important thing,” the prime minister told Malaysian journalists yesterday after his four-day visit to France.
He said that to win, the BN must work very hard and carry out an effective campaign to get the message across to the people.
He had been informed that the BN campaign was running smoothly and had received encouraging response, but the effort must continue till the end, he said.
The Bagan Pinang seat fell vacant following the death of Azman Mohammad Noor on 4 Sept. The BN’s Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad is facing Zulkefly Mohamad Omar of PAS in the polls on Sunday.
On the amendment to the Umno constitution, Najib said it was aimed at promoting transparency and openness and reducing unhealthy practices like money politics in the party elections.
The final decision on the proposed amendment would be made at the Umno extraordinary general assembly next week, the Umno president said.
He said he was open to the proposal as Umno president, and did not want to hide behind the quota system or stringent conditions.
“I feel it’s important that Umno members have absolute right in the election of high posts, which is the spirit behind the constitutional amendments,” he said.
On Makkal Sakti, Najib said he had explained to the MIC that the support of the Indian [Malaysian] community for the BN was not confined to parties within the BN, and that there were parties outside the BN like the Indian Progressive Front which supported the coalition.
“These parties are also interested in supporting the BN, so why don’t we accept them even though they are not BN members?” he said. — Bernama
