‘COALITION BY CONSENSUS IS KEY’
Salleh says this has kept BN strong and relevant since independence
ACOALITION led by consensus, which has been the main thrust of the leadership in governing the country since independence, has kept Barisan Nasional strong and relevant, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said.
He said although other countries such as the Netherlands (between Protestants and Catholics), Belgium (among Frenchspeaking Walloons with Dutch-speaking Flemish), Lebanon (between Shia, Sunni and Maronite Christians), Northern Ireland (between Catholics and Protestants), Bosnia Herzegovina (between Muslims, Croats and Serbs), and Macedonia (between Slavs and Albanians) were also practising politics of consensus, none can match what BN has achieved in Malaysia.
“None of these countries can match the political success of BN’s consensus, considering the social structure in Malaysia is far more complex than in those countries.
“What is the formula for Malaysia’s success? Firstly, BN is not merely a coalition of political parties representing various ethnicities, but also a political consensus that is holistic and integrative, and not only within the peninsula, but throughout Malaysia.”
Salleh, who is also Umno Treasurer, said this when launching the Kota Belud BN election machinery at the Datuk Haji Jamli Hall on Friday attended by all BN component party leaders. He said BN’s political consensus had also encouraged active cooperation at the grassroots-level, and not just among the top leadership.
“The strength of BN’s consensus lies with its core party, Umno, which has succeeded in establishing strong cooperation with all the component parties.
“The success of BN led by Umno has led to the opposition trying to plagiarise the formula. However, none of their coalitions have survived, such as the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU), Gagasan Rakyat and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
“Why? Firstly because the opposition parties did not share the same dream and their political ideologies differ greatly from each other.
“Secondly, they depend so much on the personality of one leader. For example, APU relied on Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, PR depended on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and now, Pakatan Harapan (PH) also depends on Tun Mahathir (Mohamad).
“Thirdly, the opposition pact does not have a dominant party to lead, like Umno does in BN,” said Salleh.
He said the BN consensus during Najib’s era was the best, due to his prowess as a multiculturalist, transformative leader. Najib’s leadership approach, he said, had enabled Umno and BN to receive the support of all Malaysians, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, age, or demographics, adding that it would lead to a comfortable win for the coalition in the 14th General Election.