Support BN (National Front) In Making Malaysia A Developed Nation: Najib

SANDAKAN (Sabah, Malaysia), April 21 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak called on the people on Friday night to continue supporting the ruling government Barisan Nasional (National Front-BN) in order to fully realise the vision to turn Malaysia into a high-income developed nation. Najib said Malaysia needs a strong and capable leadership to achieve the vision. "The opposition can promise you the sun, the moon and even the galaxy, but this is like challenging your intelligence. But I'm sure you can now differentiate what is good for the country and what can be achieved by the country," he told reporters at the Sandakan and Batu Sapi parliamentary constituencies' meet-the-people session, here on Friday night. Najib said the people can see for themselves the situation in opposition-ruled states. In Selangor, he said, the opposition promised to do 32 things including lowering the land premium and giving a monthly allowance to single mothers but to date, these had remained just a promise. In Kedah and Kelantan, he said, there had been very little change taking place in both states, while in Penang, the investors coming to the state were the ones which had been investing there during the era of the BN state government. He said the BN had a clear agenda on where the country should be heading and a track record in developing Malaysia, including in tackling numerous economic crises like the one in 2009. It was crucial for the country to have the sort of leadership which was capable of tackling these crises and adept in managing the country, he said, adding that the people could see for themselves the BN's track record compared to the inconsistencies of the opposition parties. He said that leaders who had once with the BN but now were no longer in the coalition had been coming up with all sorts of promises which they themselves had not bothered to implement when they had the power to do so. These leaders, he said, had supported all the measures taken by the government but when they were no longer with the ruling coalition, they began to sing a different tune and objected their own decision. For instance, Najib said, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who was now vocal in wanting to abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) had himself supported it when he was the Finance Minister. He said that other leaders such as DAP's (Democratic Action Party) Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng had also supported and voted for the PTPTN when it was tabled in parliament. -- BERNAMA