Malaysia will be competitive under BN — Investor body
JOHOR BAHARU: In the wake of Barisan National’s victory in the 13th general elections, Malaysia will be peaceful, stable and progress well in a competitive world, says Malaysian Investors Association President Datuk PHS Lim.
“The elected government will most likely continue its transformation programmes with its people-first policy.
“The BN government will likely be more cautious about corruption as widely alleged by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat during the hot campaigns,” he told Bernama.
On the loss of the Gelang Patah Parliamentary seat in the state of Johor, home to Iskandar Malaysia, Lim said: “BN lost a battle but won the war in the GE13.”
He said the Chinese voters forgot about practising moderation and instead voted on racial lines, adding such politics is not healthy.
“We hope the Chinese could think about national harmony in future elections instead of racebased politics,” he said.
Outgoing Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, who contested in the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat, lost to DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang, who won with a majority of 14,762 votes.
The Malaysian stock market went up seven per cent yesterday, reflecting investors’ confidence with an A- sovereign rating by Standard and Poor’s.
On Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s challenges, Lim said Najib, who was sworn in as the prime minister yesterday, has to move the promises made in the manifesto in tandem with the economic transformation programes and people- first policies.
“He has to bring in foreign investments and perhaps introduce a Goods and Services Tax. He has to form a clean government perception, as corruption was widely alleged by the opposition,” he added.
In Sunday’s general election, Barisan Nasional ( BN) was returned to power when it won 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats to form the new federal government.
DAP secured over 70 per cent of the total number of parliament seats it contested in the 13th general election, winning 38 of the 51 seats.
DAP secretary- general Lim Guan Eng retained his Bagan parliamentary constituency with a 34,159-vote majority and Air Puteh state seat with over 7,700vote majority.
Penang Barisan Nasional ( BN) chaiman Teng Chang Yeow announced his resignation within hours after poll results were announced by taking full responsibility over the failure to wrest the state from Pakatan Rakyat.
In Kuala Lumpur, DAP won all five parliamentary seats the party contested, namely in Kepong, Segambut, Bukit Bintang, Seputeh and Cheras.
In Perak, all its seven candidates won with a comfortable margin of votes in most of the Chinese majority parliamentary seats of Taiping, Ipoh Timor, Ipoh Barat, Batu Gajah, Beruas, Kampar and Telok Intan.
Selangor also saw DAP maintain its grip on Puchong ( Gobind Singh Deo), PJ Utara ( Tony Pua) and Klang ( Charles Santiago). — Bernama