Change of govt impossible – Teo
A change of government is impossible in the 14th General Elec on (GE14), said Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Seri Panglima Teo Chee Kang.
KOTA KINABALU: A change of government is impossible in the 14th General Election (GE14), said Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Seri Panglima Teo Chee Kang.
“Barisan Nasional (BN) may lose some seats, but I believe we have no problem to maintain as the Federal Government and State Government in Sabah.”
Teo, who is also the president of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), urged the voters to be calm and rational when casting their votes in GE14.
“Don’t let emotions influence your decisions,” he emphasized when gracing the Teachers’ Day celebration dinner organized by the Sabah Chinese Kindergarten Boards Association (SCKBA) here on Saturday.
He opined that the reason BN was denied two-thirds majority in the Parliament during both GE12 and GE13, as well as lost the mandate in five states, namely Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan and Kedah, in the 2008 general election, was due to opposition giving the false impression that they could change the government.
In the last election, Teo said his friend, whose company is in the website design and online business, confessed to him that he was paid lucratively by West Malaysian political parties to lead a team in spreading negative or anti-government news, including fabricated information, on social media.
“There are individuals who created fake Facebook accounts to spread false information, criticize and incite hatred against the government using vulgar language to influence public opinion towards the administration.”
He pointed out that the opposition has been shouting ‘it is now or never’ to change the government since the GE12 in 2008, yet they never succeeded.
“I dare say the same opposition leaders will still be saying ‘it is now or never’ five years later.”
Teo said most Malay-majority constituencies in West Malaysia would still be in the hands of BN in this election with possible three-cornered fights between BN, PAS and Amanah or Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
“BN will lose some seats but I believe the coalition has no problem in maintaining as the Federal Government and State Government.
“A change of government on May 9, 2018 is impossible.”
So who should the voters root for?
Teo said the reality had proven that political parties with contradictory ideologies were bound to split, like Democratic Action Party (DAP) and PAS.
Similarly, Teo said it was impossible for the component parties in Pakatan Harapan (PH) to work together cohesively in the long run because of differing political ideologies and distrust among the opposition leaders.
He said DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, now the chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), had been at odds with each other for decades.
“Do you believe Mahathir and (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) can work together? Impossible.
“Because there is no trust between the parties (in PH) and among their leaders.”
Teo also doubted DAP and PKR’s willingness to accept Mahathir as prime minister if PH made it to Putrajaya, nor did he believe Mahathir would hand over his power to Anwar if the latter was released.
“We cannot allow such an opposition camp, who have contradictory political ideologies and misgivings among its leaders, to lead the country,” he stressed.
Also present were Assistant Education Director for Chinese School Unit, Tham Yun Fook, SCKBA chairman Datuk Chin Shu Ying, who is also BN’s Likas state seat candidate and BN’s Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat candidate, Dr Joseph Lee.