Opposition Pact Only On Seat Distribution

BUTTERWORTH, Feb 29 (Bernama) -- The opposition coalition is merely an electoral understanding on the distribution of seats for the general election and nothing more, said Deputy Prime Minister Dauk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said this was because they believed that by contesting on a one-to-one basis against the Barisan Nasional (BN), they would gain an advantage in the general election.

"They can't go further than that. They are afraid of forming a coalition. They are even afraid of being photographed together, they collaborate in the dark.

"In fact, they are afraid to issue a joint manifesto, logo or policy. The pact between the DAP, PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) and PAS is fragile. Don't try to form a government," he said at a meeting with community leaders, here Thursday night.

Najib said the opposition tried to copy the concept of power-sharing adopted by the BN but failed because the BN coalition was openly achieved with a winning formula which had prevailed for the past 50 years and had passed the test of time.

He said the BN coalition was not only confined to power-sharing but also trusted each other which had enabled it to prevail until today.

Commenting on the power-sharing, Najib said the BN would always defend its partners in whatever circumstances.

Citing the MIC, he said although the Indian community formed 7.9 per cent of the population in the country and it would be difficult for them to find a constituency with an Indian majority, the BN would always give Indian candidates an opportunity to contest.

He said the best example was the by-election for the Ijok state constituency on April 28, last year.

Although it was a Malay-majority area, the BN had nominated the MIC candidate, K. Partiban who won with a majority of 1,850 votes.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the PKR, which is a multiracial party, had fielded Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, and PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar had sacrificed his good and loyal friend Datuk KS Nalakaruppan for the sake of politics.

"Friendship does not mean anything (to PKR) compared to the BN which emphasised on comradeship and this is our success because we don't look for opportunities," Najib said.

-- BERNAMA