KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional (BN) is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the unity administration alongside Pakatan Harapan (PH) in states which the former had previously been the opposition.
Referring to Selangor and Penang in particular, Umno Information Chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said pointed out that it has been nearly two decades since BN was part of the administration of these states.
“I haven’t read the breakdown (of votes from the recent state elections), but what I can see is from my party perspective (as a) BN representative (in the PH-BN alliance),” she said last night, when she was on the sidelines of the unity government’s gathering for election results.
“(BN’s presence is now) in states that we never thought we could have that control (by being) partially part of the state government.
“We haven’t governed Penang for more than 10 years and we haven’t participated in (the) Selangor (state legislative assembly) for more than 10 years.”
BN had governed both states prior to the 12th general election (GE12) in 2008, which saw the coalition losing its hold on Selangor and Penang, for the first time in its history, to the then Pakatan Rakyat coalition consisting of PKR, PAS, and DAP.
Yesterday’s elections resulted in PH reaffirming its position in the two states, but with a smaller majority in Selangor at 32 seats, along with 27 seats in Penang, while BN secured two seats each in both states.
Asked to comment on the state elections results, which saw PH losing its two-thirds majority in Selangor for the first time in 15 years, Azalina stressed that the unity government managed to maintain the status quo of holding three states.
“At least it’s status quo. (We’re an) eight month-old government… to make babies it takes nine months, right,” she quipped.
Meanwhile, Azalina, who is also law and institutional reforms minister, conveyed her “best wishes” to the people in states where rival Perikatan Nasional (PN) had managed to secure the numbers to form the state administrative assembly.
“To the people of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, I wish you good luck. (If) you continuously want a government like that… it’s like when you make a decision to marry, you live with it,” she said.
PN, led by chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, managed to achieve landslide wins in the three states, securing 43 out of 45 seats in Kelantan, 32 out of 36 seats in Kedah and all 32 seats in Terengganu.
Dismissing the notion that the state elections’ results imply that PN had successfully made inroads among Malay voters, Azalina said the polls have instead confirmed how PN rides on racially and religiously fanatic sentiments to convey its ideals.
“I’m seeing that (PN) is representing and selling extremism as a party propaganda,” she said, adding that the PH-BN unity alliance will be conducting its own post-mortem analysis of the polls.
She also warned politicians who might have party-hopping plans in mind to consider how such actions might affect voters, saying: “If anybody has the anti-party hopping law in mind, they must consider the price included.
“Voters will be very angry and upset. I think voters just want the government to carry on with its work.” – August 13, 2023