KUALA LUMPUR: DATUK Seri Najib Razak yesterday described the Selangor menteri besar crisis as a failure of the opposition parties to “copy” Barisan Nasional’s formula of cooperation.
The prime minister said the crisis had seen the partnership between the three Pakatan parties crumble, while BN stayed strong with 13 component parties, in addition to several other parties friendly to its cause.
“They tried to copy us, but we can see now that the alternative to BN is not better than BN. You may have more choices, but imitation goods will never compare with the original,” he said when opening the 6th Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP) annual general meeting (AGM) here.
Najib, who is also BN chairman, said the coalition had succeeded in achieving political stability by being sincere in its efforts to reach its goals.
“We believe in power-sharing, in transformative policies, in 1Malaysia, in the New Economic Model and in cooperation between different communities. For the sake of our future, we have no choice or alternative more viable than BN.”
BN, he said, strived to be inclusive in its approach and principles by ensuring each party contributed and, in turn, received assistance. He said the coalition could be dubbed BN Plus-Plus (BN++) for its flexibility in supporting both its official component parties as well as other groups that backed its mission.
“In the larger BN family, we do not have to envy each other. Political stability is not a zero-sum game. If we help one group, it does not mean we do it at the expense of another.”
In this regard, Najib gave his assurance that the government would always support MMSP’s efforts in helping the Indian community, especially in education and skills training. MMSP is a BN-friendly party.
Najib agreed with calls by MMSP president Datuk R.S. Thanenthiran to increase the enrolment of Indian students in public institutions of higher learning (IPTAs).
“We must also improve the quality of education in Tamil schools to ensure a steady flow of students into IPTAs.”
He said among other efforts, the government had allocated RM100 million under last year’s Budget for skills training programmes, as well as RM50 million in loans to be disbursed by Tekun Nasional to small enterprises.
Earlier, Thanenthiran announced several resolutions that were passed during MMSP’s AGM to improve the welfare of the Indian community.
The party called for a deputy minister to be appointed from among its ranks, as well as for MMSP to become part of the cabinet committee on Indian affairs.
It also called for a RM50 million fund for its administrative activities and to improve delivery systems monitoring for its youth programmes.
In addition to raising student enrolment in IPTAs, the party also proposed that Tamil secondary schools be introduced to allow Indian students to further their studies in their mother tongue.
-NST
