Elections can be held in December, says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says the general election can be held in December despite the monsoon.

The Prime Minister said: “If it rains or a flood occurs, (then we) can use the boat.”

Najib has until April 28 next year to dissolve Parliament to pave the way for the 13th general election.

In a special interview with Bernama and Utusan Malaysia ahead of the Umno general assembly which begins on Tuesday, Najib said as the backbone of the Barisan Nasional, Umno had always frontlined ideas and transformation programmes.

“There has been no conflict in terms of policy or ideology (between Umno and Barisan Nasional). This is different from Opposition parties which often issued opinions which were at odds, even on basic matters.

“We have a proven track record of our achievements which cannot be disputed in managing the nation,’’ he added.

Najib said as a government, Umno and Barisan had “moral strength” and always held on to their promises. “The future of our children is too valuable to be gambled with,’’ he added.

Najib said the Malays were deceived by external factors, such as the label of a party which claimed to be Islamic and the appearance of its leaders who were regarded as being more Islamic, adding that political parties should be evaluated in terms of “content and agenda”.

When asked about his expectation from the 5,447 delegates attending this year’s assembly, the Barisan chairman and Umno president hoped members would be able to absorb his messages and “interpret them into action and attitude”.

He said the focus of the debates must be on the positive direction of Umno and confidence in the leadership as well as to provide answers to accusations by the Opposition at the Umno and Barisan leaderships.

He said Umno’s situation was better compared to a year ago and “surely is better than the pictures which we see in the Opposition pact which show parties not sharing the same aspirations”.