‘OPPOSITION IN CONFUSED STATE’
One cannot bargain to become PM, says Najib
THE rakyat should be able to judge the opposition’s inability to govern as it cannot even decide on its choice of prime minister should it win the 14th General Election (GE14).
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the opposition was at the most confused state now after PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim withdrew as a prime minister candidate.
“Nobody has the right to be the prime minister unless it is through the process of election. In a parliamentary democracy, the party which wins the most number of seats is eligible to form the government and appoint a prime minister.
“One cannot bargain to be the prime minister, as is happening now in the opposition. Since independence, the prime minister has come from Umno because Umno has the most number of seats in Parliament,” he said in his speech at a gathering with 3,000 Perlis Umno grassroots members at Dewan 2020 here yesterday.
Present were his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man and Perlis Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.
Najib said Umno remained intact and strong, and was capable of winning GE14.
“The Flower Party (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia) has only one seat (in Parliament). Umno has 88 seats. It does not make sense (for them) to be choosing a candidate for prime minister.
“In our 222-seat Parliament, BN holds the majority seats with 134, where Umno has 88 seats, so the prime minister is from Umno.
“Strangely enough, some people are nominating their own party to lead the Pakatan Harapan and to be the prime minister when they have only one seat in Parliament.”
On a similar note, Najib urged Umno leaders to work hard to retain the clean sweep of the three Perlis parliamentary seats in GE14.
He said Perlis had been the fixed deposit for Barisan Nasional and Umno since independence.
“Based on our track record in developing the state and looking after the people’s wellbeing, we have a good chance of retaining all the three parliamentary seats.
“But I must remind Umno leaders and members to stay united and remain loyal to the party and the leaders.”
He said BN and Umno considered all states, regardless of their size, as equally important in facing the next general election.
Najib later announced a RM3 million allocation to repair damaged and dilapidated houses in Perlis and another RM3 million for road maintenance in the state.